Week 3: Judicial reform, property tax relief, Medicaid Expansion, privacy, and more

Week 3 of the 69th Montana Legislature

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Property Tax Relief Bills Are Here
The Senate Local Government and Tax Committees began hearing property tax relief bills brought by Senate Republicans, including SB 90, sponsored by Senator Carl Glimm (R-Kila), which would provide property tax relief using revenue from tourism and SB 117, sponsored by Senator Daniel Zolnikov (R-Billings), which eases the property tax burden on residents and businesses by stopping local governments' runaway budget growth.

The House also heard a handful of property tax relief proposals. Special interest groups are adamantly opposing all of the various property tax relief bills. For more information on Senate property tax relief bills, check out the "Committee Action" section of the newsletter below.

Medicaid Expansion Bills Heard in Committees
Lawmakers heard two Republican-sponsored bills related to Medicaid Expansion and one Democrat-sponsored bill on Wednesday. Senator Carl Glimm's SB 62 would gently phase out Medicaid Expansion. HB 245, sponsored by Rep. Ed Buttrey (R-Great Falls), would adjust work requirements passed in 2019 but otherwise permanently reauthorize Medicaid Expansion mostly in its current form.

HB 230, sponsored by Rep. Mary Caferro (D-Helena), would likewise permanently reauthorize the program, with fewer checks and balances than exist currently. All three bills garnered substantial public input during the hearings. The Montana Free Press has a writeup here.

Pro-Privacy Legislation Heard, Judicial Reform Reaches the Floors
Another legislative session, another year of Sen. Daniel Zolnikov working to keep Montana at the forefront of digital privacy in the age of technology. Plus, an early batch of judicial reform bills advanced on the Senate and House floors. Keep reading for more on that.

Senate Leaders Meet With Trail Life USA Members at Montana Capitol
Senate President Matt Regier (R-Kalispell) and President Pro Tempore Ken Bogner (R-Miles City) met with young members of Trail Life USA, a faith-based organization that helps young men develop their character and life skills.

Senate Republican leaders take questions from Trail Life USA members.

Property Tax Relief 

• SB 90 (Glimm): Uses revenue from lodging and rental car taxes to give property tax relief to Montanans for their primary residences. The legislation is intended to leverage tourism-related tax revenue to create a sustainable funding model for permanent property tax relief. The bill experienced a large lobbying effort in opposition during its first committee hearing; make sure to come to the Capitol or testify online in support of bills that matter most to you!
  
  
• SB 117 (Zolnikov): Reforms property tax laws to let local governments increase their budgets by 100% of the inflation rate but caps budget growth at 4% overall. Additionally, the legislation allows local governments to include just 50% of certain newly taxable value in their budgets, while the other half is put towards broad property tax relief. It's a long-term solution to rising property taxes. Zolnikov explains how his bill works in this informative video.

Tech Privacy

• SB 163 (Zolnikov): Defines "neural data" and protects it by expanding the scope of Montana's Genetic Information Privacy Act, which Zolnikov passed last session. The legislation is intended to keep Montana's data privacy laws ahead of advancements in technologies that are capable of reading and recording brain activity, such as Elon Musk's Neuralink. 

• SB 118 (Zolnikov): Grants parents greater control over data collected on their children in the education system by allowing them to request the deletion of their kids' data. The legislation helps parents opt their children out of the cradle-to-grave data collection system and exercise the "right to be forgotten," continuing a trend of Montana leading the nation on data privacy laws. NonStopLocal has more. 

Pro-Housing

• SB 121 (Sen. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus): Updates Montana's Land Use Planning Act, passed by Mandeville last session as part of the "Montana Miracle" package of pro-housing legislation, to enhance clarity, transparency, and consistency in local government decision-making on development applications. The legislation aims to support responsible growth while ensuring public involvement and adherence to local plans.

Pro-Teacher

• SB 138 (Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester): Empowers Montana teachers to maintain a positive and productive learning environment for our kids by allowing them to temporarily remove students from their classroom for disruptive behavior. The legislation also outlines how disruptive students can return to the classroom based on a behavioral contract or other agreement with school officials.

Judicial Reform 

• SB 45 (Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings): Establishes a judicial performance evaluation commission to periodically prepare reports on the performance of judges and justices, based on their disciplinary record, courtroom conduct, and reports from attorneys and jurors. Expected to pass committee soon.
  
  
• SB 30 (McGillvray): Clarifies the recusal process for judicial officers, specifically addressing conflicts of interest related to political contributions. The legislation ensures that the "rule of necessity" cannot be used to avoid recusal if other judicial officers with fewer conflicts are available. Passed committee.
  
  
• SB 66 (Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork): Provides definitions in state code for the terms "bias," "conflict of interest," "impartiality," and "open-mindedness" as they relate to the judiciary. The bill also expands the list of judicial officers to include water court judges, standing masters, administrative judges and hearing examiners. Passed committee. 
  
  
• SB 97 (Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell): Revises venue laws for legal challenges to recently enacted legislation, requiring cases to be heard in a county wholly or partially located within the legislative district of the bill's primary sponsor. The bill also mandates a venue change if a law is challenged as unconstitutional. Passed committee.

Judicial Reform

• Six out of seven judicial reform bills heard on the House and Senate floors Thursday advanced. Five of those seven were recommended by the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform. Read more from the Montana Television Network here.
  
  
  • SB 92 (Fuller): Makes membership and dues payments to the Montana Bar Association voluntary for attorneys practicing in the state. The Senate advanced the bill through second reading with all 32 Republicans in favor and all 18 Democrats opposed to freedom of association.
    
    
  • SB 13 (Sen. Daniel Emrich, R-Great Falls): Moves the review of statewide ballot measures from the Montana Supreme Court to district courts, with the exception of writs of habeas corpus. The bill also removes parts of Montana law that gives the Supreme Court authority to review ballot statements. The Senate advanced the bill through second reading on another party line vote. 

Property Rights

• SB 101 (Sen. Becky Beard, R-Elliston): Creates new laws to define and address unlawful squatting on private property and fraudulent property sales or leases, protecting property owners and ensuring the integrity of the rental and real estate markets. The bill makes squatting a misdemeanor with penalties including payment for unpaid rent and damages. The Senate advanced the bill through second reading with all Republicans and only 3 Democrats voting for property rights, while the other 15 Democrats voted pro-trespassing against this common sense bill. Senate President Matt Regier discussed the bill with Sen. Beard here in an episode of the Montana Majority Report Insider Update.

Tech Privacy

• SB 124 (Bogner): Expands electronic driver's license privacy laws to protect all electronic licenses from undue search and seizure. The Senate advanced the bill through second reading in a unanimous vote.

SB 146 (Beard): This bill, dubbed the Private Property Protection Act, requires state and local property use restrictions to be demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling government interest in health or safety. The bill received attention in national outlet Reason, which you can read here. You can also read more about the importance of property rights in a recent column from Frontier Institute founder and CEO Kendall Cotton here. SB 146 will have its first hearing on Tuesday, January 28th.

Judicial Reform Bills on the Move in the House
HB 39, sponsored by Representative Tom Millett (R-Marion), passed the House. The pro-Freedom of Speech legislation repeals a prohibition on political party contributions to judicial candidates.

The House also advanced several judicial reform bills through second reading, including:

• HB 35 (Rep. Fiona Nave, R-Columbus): Administratively attaches the Judicial Standards Commission--the entity charged with policing judicial ethics--to the Department of Justice instead of to the Montana Supreme Court in order to improve its independent oversight of judges.
• HB 36 (Nave): Disallows district court judges from serving as the presiding officer of the Judicial Standards Commission.
• HB 65 (Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel): Requires the Legislative Audit Division to audit the Montana State Bar Association. This bill barely passed second reading on a 51-49 vote.
• HB 169 (Millett): Allows judges to attend partisan events.

Montana Legislative Leaders Meet With Japanese Delegation, U.S. Air Force Officials 
Senate President Matt Regier met with a Japanese delegation visiting Montana to discuss trade and diplomatic ties between the state and Japan. Regier, Senate President Pro Tem Ken Bogner, House Speaker Brandon Ler (R-Savage), and Speaker Pro Tem Katie Zolnikov (R-Billings) also met with U.S. Air Force officials to discuss legislative matters and the impact of the Sentinel nuclear modernization program on Montana.

Left: Regier with Japan delegation. Right: Leadership with Air Force officials.

Democratic Senator Proves Unreliable Ally on Property Tax Relief
Senator Dave Fern (D-Whitefish) initially co-sponsored Senator Carl Glimm's aforementioned SB 90 property tax relief bill. However, he flip-flopped on the issue and revoked his support following pressure from lobbyists.

"Fern said he liked the idea behind the bill... but he found the testimony compelling from people who benefit from the money the legislation would redirect." Read more here.

Lobbyist Claims Anti-Squatting Bill "Discriminatory"
A lobbyist representing the Montana ACLU testified in opposition to the anti-squatting bill sponsored by Sen. Becky Beard, claiming that prohibiting people from trespassing on private property is somehow discriminatory. Apparently the Pro-Trespassing Caucus includes most Senate Democrats, with 15 out of 18 of them voting against Beard's bill.

Working Hard or Hardly Working? 
Showing up for work is usually the first step to do doing any job. Not so for Senate Democrats! ICYMI, here's our video showing how unprepared some senators are for the legislative session after skipping out on important committee work all of last year.

The "Montana Majority Report" podcast is a new way to stay up to date on the Montana Legislature's work – directly from the source. We are experimenting with various forms of video content, including brief "Insider Updates" from lawmakers. You can explore all our content to stay informed by subscribing to the podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.

Don't have much time? Check out bite-sized clips of our content here.

Judicial Reform
This week on a special segment of the Montana Majority Report, Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvray sat down with Senator Daniel Emrich to discuss judicial reform bills, specifically the need for partisan judicial races and a judicial performance evaluation commission. Click here to listen to the episode.

Property Tax Reform
Senator Daniel Zolnikov visited the studio to break down his property tax reform bill SB 117 covered earlier in the newsletter. Zolnikov simplifies the complex issue of property taxes and local budgets with the help of some visual aids. Watch the video here.

Senate President Matt Regier also briefly spoke with Senator Carl Climm about his property tax relief bill. Watch the conversation here.

Property Rights
Sen. Becky Beard joined President Regier to discuss her bill to prevent trespassers from squatting on private property. Watch/listen here. 

Legislature Will Hold Judicial Branch Accountable
Senate Republicans will champion a variety of bills this session to hold the judicial branch accountable and restore Montanans' trust in the courts, Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvray said in an op-ed this week.

"The state’s judicial branch has ventured into the realm of making laws instead of interpreting them, endangering the system of checks and balances at the heart of American politics... That’s why Senate Republicans are on track to pass a set of critical court reform bills to hold the judiciary accountable and reclaim the legislature’s roll as lawmakers; Montana’s voters specifically trusted us with that responsibility."

Read McGillvray's full op-ed here: "Legislature Will Reform Montana's Courts to Hold Judicial Branch Accountable"

Lawmakers Discuss Bills With 'Montana Talks' in Live Broadcast From Capitol
Aaron Flint, the host of the Montana Talks radio show, broadcasted live from the Montana Capitol last Friday. Flint spent several hours talking with legislators and other guests about their bills and policy issues.

"For 4 hours I had microphones set up in front of the 3rd floor fan window of the Montana Capitol, and we got to hear from lawmaker after lawmaker after lawmaker... Here's the best part – we gave each of them the opportunity to tell us what they're working on this session. Needless to say, we learned a lot, heard about some interesting topics, and got some great insight."

Read more or listen to the full broadcast here: "Autonomous Vehicles, The Energy Race: MT Legislature Highlights"

Senator Zolnikov Highlights Bill to Cut Property Taxes, Address Local Budget Inflation
Senator Daniel Zolnikov highlighted his property tax reform bill in an op-ed this week, detailing how the legislation will provide property tax relief by fixing problems at the budget level.

"We need to stop the compounding growth of local government budgets. [This bill's] adjustments use new growth to restrain local budgets and lower everyone's property tax bills. By fixing the budget side of the problem, this bill helps to level out runaway property tax increases."

Read Senator Zolnikov's full op-ed here: "New Bill Will Lower Property Taxes, Stop Local Budget Inflation"

Sober Living Facility Launches in Billings as Senator Pushes Substance Abuse, Mental Health Legislation
A new sober living facility, Here We Are Recovery, opened in Billings recently. The launch comes as Senator Mike Yakawich (R-Billings) works to advance nearly a dozen bills related to substance abuse and mental health.

"Yakawich serves on the Behavioral Health Commission, and is currently working on 11 bills regarding mental health, suicide prevention, and substance abuse disorder... Between Raykowski's local work in Billings, and Yakawich's work state-wide, both hope to tackle the behavioral health crisis one day at a time."

Read more about the new facility and Sen. Yakawich's work here: "New Sober Living Facility Set to Open in Billings Amidst Behavioral Health Crisis"

Unlike Washington, D.C., and many bigger states, Montana has a part-time citizen Legislature. Legislators are not professional politicians, they're small business owners, farmers and ranchers, blue collar workers, retirees, and others who take time out of their normal lives to serve you in Helena. 

That means voicing your opinions has a real impact. Learn how to contact your legislators, testify at a committee hearing (in person or remotely), and otherwise participate in the legislative process here. Don't know who represents you in the Legislature? You can enter your address in the interactive map here to find out.

This newsletter is from Senate Republicans in the Montana Legislature. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for this newsletter and follow our caucus on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.