| It seems a ways off, but the 2011 legislative session is just around the corner. Two Missoula area legislators seem likely to face off on the question of who owns your life -- you or the government?
It also seems apparent that some medicinal marijuana reform of some sort will be taken up, probably with 15 competing proposals. I'm curious what the economic impact would be of seriously dialing back this recently flourishing industry. Taxation of marijuana may be one of the most popular proposals as a way to shore up the budget a bit.
The state has a number of other bill drafts pending. A number of these are "generally revise" titles that don't reveal what is happening. Bruce Tutvedt (R-Flathead) has 5 tax reform bills. Yikes. I can only presume he wants to knock our budget further out of balance by giving rich people and oil companies more tax breaks. Maybe I'll be surprised.
Ron Erickson has requested a bill to abolish the death penalty. Montana's Senate made history in '09 as the first Republican-controlled chamber in the nation to vote to repeal the death penalty. The bill will probably face success in that chamber again. The House is more likely to be in play depending on who controls it this fall.
John Brueggeman wants to dig into outsourcing.
On the health care front, Jim Shockley wants to amend the Constitution to create freedom in choosing health care coverage. Will that be a positive right? Bruce Tutvedt is also moving on the health care front, pushing for more tax credits and introducing a bill to allow out-of-state insurance companies (presumably unregulated by the Montana State Auditor) to sell policies in Montana. Depending on how that is structured, it might be a smart bill. If it just turns us into a race-to-the-bottom on the insurance front, we'll end up with Montanans paying lots of premium dollars to out-of-state companies who will then screw people out of health care when they need it.
Brueggeman is also looking out for Montana's pasttime with one bill to allow the shipping of wine into the state and a second bill to revise microbrewery and microdistillery laws.
Back on the crazy front, Greg Hinkle, who thinks the State of Montana should keep you from taking your own life also thinks sheriff's should have to authorize federal searches, seizures, and arrests. I presume that would also apply to the Border Patrol, which seems to run counter to the modern conservative movement's anti-Brown tendencies. I'm guessing it also runs afoul of that other darling of the tea party movement: the U.S. Constitution.
Proving that legislators have a sense of humor, Senator Jim Keane (D-Butte) wants to charge a fee for PowerPoint presentations to committees. This might have the great side effect of encouraging people to use the far superior Keynote (loophole!).
Senator Dave Lewis has a resolution calling for US withdrawal from the United Nations, which would make hosting that body in New York awkward.... I'll also consider this to be a New World Order conspiracy, since it would be a silly move that would give up our veto authority at the UN. It may actually make the United Nations more effective at its mission.
Debby Barrett is taking a stand for hunter rights by seeking a bill to prohibit "harassment" of licensed hunters. That may have a First Amendment problem.
Alright, that's all I can handle. What else are people hearing about or think should be dropped in the hopper? |
