Senate blocks drive for tougher seat belt law
HELENA – A bill that would have allowed police to pull drivers over for not wearing seat belts ended in a tie vote in the state Senate Thursday.
Current Montana law allows law enforcement to ticket drivers for not wearing seat belts but only after they have been pulled over for another offense.
Senate Bill 237, sponsored by Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, would have made the failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense. The bill failed in a 25-25 tie. Lewis said he won’t try to revive the measure.
During a lengthy debate last Wednesday, supporters said the bill would save lives because more people would wear their seat belts.
“I know that if we pass this bill fewer people will be killed,” Lewis said.
But opponents said the bill would impinge on Montanans’ liberties by giving police an excuse to pull drivers over whenever they feel like it. “This opens the door to be pulled over for any reason, any time,” said Sen. Dan McGee, R-Laurel.
Others feared the bill would promote racial profiling by giving police an easy reason to pull over Native Americans. Sens. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, and Sharon Stewart-Peregoy, D-Crow Agency, opposed the bill for that reason.
Senate kills bill to include tips in minimum wage
The state Senate voted Tuesday to sideline a bill that would have allowed employers to include tips in any future minimum wage they pay their workers.
The bill would have allowed employers to count tips toward the minimum wage, but only after that wage tops $6.90 an hour. The minimum wage, which is tied to the national inflation index, is scheduled to increase to $7.25 an hour in July.
Senate Bill 253’s sponsor, Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, R-Sidney, said the measure would help Montana's struggling restaurant industry get back on its feet.
Supporters of the bill included the owners and managers of many Montana restaurants and other small businesses.
Opponents of the bill said it would penalize the poor in Montana for doing their job well.
Republicans worry about costs of CHIP expansion
Republican fears about costs and "socialized medicine" colored last week’s debate over a bill to extend health-care insurance to thousands of additional uninsured Montana children.
House Bill 157, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Hunter, D-Helena, would provide startup funding for the Healthy Montana Kids Program, a voter-approved initiative that expands eligibility for the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid coverage to children of low- and moderate-income families.
The bill won initial approval by a 57-41 vote, but some Republicans argued that it was a poor fiscal decision.
Rep. Bob Lake, R-Hamilton, said he wasn’t sure Montanans would have voted for it if they knew it would cost $2.6 million to start up.
HB 157 would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to use money set aside in a special revenue fund to implement I-155. The initiative aims to cover 29,000 of Montana's estimated 30,000 to 34,000 uninsured children.
Donors to private-school scholarships seek tax break
Private-school students packed the Old Supreme Court gallery Thursday to hear a bill that would give tax credits to individuals or businesses that give money to private school scholarship funds.
Senate Bill 342, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Essman, R-Billings, would give donors an 80 percent tax credit on their gifts. The total amount of tax credits allowed would be capped at $10.3 million.
Opponents, including the MEA/MFT, OPI, and the Montana School Board Association, said the tax credit will hurt the state by taking away $10.3 million in revenue that might otherwise go to public education.
But Essman said the bill would give 2,600 Montana children the ability to be placed in a private school they would otherwise be unable to attend. He insisted it was not an appropriation or a grant of state money.
Parents of students in private schools told lawmakers the bill would help them pay tuition. Private school administrators from around the state said the scholarship organizations would help them attract more students
Bill calling for elected regents faces long odds
Legislation calling for the election of the state's Board of Regents and Board of Public Education staggered last week from the Senate to the House, where it would need at least 80 votes to earn a spot on a future statewide ballot.
Senate Bills 80 and 81, sponsored by Sen. Dan McGee, R-Laurel, received 20 and 21 Senate votes, respectively. Because both measures aim to change the state's constitution, they require two-thirds approval from the 150-member Legislature.
McGee said he sponsored the bills because the education boards need to be held accountable to the public. Under the constitution, members of both boards are now appointed by the governor.
Opponents argued that opening the boards to political campaigns would bring only partisanship and culture clashes.
– CNS reporter Lauren Russell also contributed to this report.