Bridge access bill aims for elusive compromise

HELENA- House Bill 190 has the distinction of being the first "stream access" bill of the 2009 Legislature. The subject has been a legislative staple since 1985, when lawmakers enacted Montana's landmark law allowing recreational access to the beds and banks of the state's navigable waterways.

This year's debate reflects a Madison County judge's October ruling granting recreationists a right to access streams and rivers from bridges in the public right of way. But it also gave landowners a right to build fences up to those bridges to control their livestock. Now lawmakers are wrestling over who's responsible for providing access over, under or through the fences.

Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings, offered his solution to the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee Tuesday.

H.B. 190 would require the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to work with landowners to modify fences attached to or abutting county roads or bridges, allowing public access while controlling livestock. FWP would be responsible for the construction and cost of any fence changes.

The hearing drew dozens of supporters, including the Montana Conservation Voters, Montana Farmers Union, Montana Cattlemen's Association, Montana Wildlife Federation, Montana Association of Counties and Montana Trout Unlimited.

But a handful of opponents, such as landowner and media mogul James Cox Kennedy, who has fought access to a stretch of the Ruby River that runs through his ranch, said the bill doesn't sufficiently address landowners' liability or safety concerns.

Bob Lane, an FWP attorney, said counties will maintain police power in unsafe situations, trumping access laws if safety is at stake.

The Montana Stockgrowers Association and Citizens for Balanced Use also opposed the bill. Stockgrowers' lobbyist John Bloomquist expressed concern that the bill does not address prescriptive road easements. These easements are roads that have been used by the public for so long that the county gets right of way, whether or not it runs through private land.

A traditional county road has a 60-foot general easement on either side, a factor that allows for public access to the rivers at bridges. Bloomquist argued that a prescriptive easement is only as wide as the road and does not include the adjoining land, which would effectively allow landowners to deny access at bridges.

The inherent complications with prescriptive easements are exactly why they were left out of the bill, Van Dyk said. He said the discussion was brought up at the hearing to draw attention away from the provisions in the bill.

Repeat sex offenders could face stiffer penalties

Legislation to make repeat sex offenders face harsher punishment is "long overdue," supporters told legislators last week.

House Bill 102, sponsored by Rep. Cary Smith, R-Billings, would allow prosecutors to charge repeat offenders with felonies. Currently, offenders can only be charged with a misdemeanor despite prior assault convictions.

While sexual assault is different than rape, supporters of the bill said repeat offenders can be just as dangerous.

Billings City Attorney Brent Brooks noted that state law allows for enhanced penalties for repeat offenders in cases of stalking, domestic violence, indecent exposure and even cruelty to animals. He said Montana sexual assault laws are an anomaly and should be included.

"I would hope that the Legislature could find value in defining sexual assault by a repeat convicted offender at least on par with, if not more serious than, cruelty to animals," Brooks said.

Assistant Attorney General Brant Light said a district court judge could compel sexual offender treatment as well as investigations into an offender's mental capacity.

The bill was also supported by the Missoula County Attorney's office and support groups for assault victims. There were no opponents at the hearing.

Industry offers ideas for lower health care costs

Health care experts told lawmakers last week that the industry could do three things to make care more affordable: improve administrative efficiency, make costs more transparent and expand insurance and preventative care programs.

The suggestions came from a panel of doctors, insurance executives and hospital officials who met with the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee to offer ideas for improving access to care in Montana.

Dirk Visser, CEO of insurance giant Allegiance, said many Montanans are uninsured for two reasons: They don't want insurance or can't afford it. Visser said high costs are to blame.

Dr. Nicholas Wolter, CEO of Billings Clinic, said pricing for medical services could be more accountable if hospitals and doctors communicated more effectively with one another about costs.

Panelists also agreed that insurance forms and benefits needed to be simplified. That would require cooperation between insurers and care providers.

New West Health Services CEO David Kibbe said the health care industry has not thought hard enough about reform. He said more physicians would be primary care doctors if the job paid better, allowing for a better doctor-to-patient ratio.

Other panelists included State Auditor Monica Lindeen, Kevin Larson of Employee Benefit Management Services and a representative from the American Medical Association.

Bill to end same-day voter registration draws fire

Opponents turned out in force last week to protest a bill that would end Montana's practice of allowing citizens to register to vote on Election Day.

So-called same-day registration, begun in 2006, causes too much extra work for Montana's county election officials, said House Bill 88's sponsor, Rep. Ted Washburn, R-Bozeman.

Washburn's bill would cut off registration at 5 p.m. on the Friday before an election.

Washburn was the lone supporter of his bill, but the line of opponents stretched well into the hallway.

Newly elected Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, a Democrat and now the state's top elections officer, spoke for many opponents in saying Washburn's bill would deny voting opportunities for thousands of Montanans.

"Casting a ballot should be easy and accessible to all eligible voters," she said.

Other opponents included Montana's League of Women Voters, AARP, the Associated Students of the University of Montana, The Montana AFL-CIO and the Montana Public Interest Research Group.

Renters seek help with deposits, leases and heat

Montana renters are asking lawmakers for help against landlords who unfairly withhold security deposits, fail to provide copies of leases and don't turn up the heat.

Such complaints moved Rep. Deborah Kottel, D-Great Falls, to introduce two bills, House Bills 188 and 189, which came before the House Business and Labor Committee Thursday.

H.B. 188, would grant greater damages to renters who successfully sue landlords who wrongfully withhold security deposits. The bill would allow damages of three times the amount of the deposit. Current law limits damages to legal costs and the amount of the deposit.

Supporters included the Associated Students of the University of Montana; representatives from Montana State University and Montana State University - Billings; Montana Women Vote; Montana Public Interest Research Group; and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association.

But opponents to the bill, led by the Montana Landlords Association and the Montana Association of Realtors, said similar penalties for withholding security deposits were removed from the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in 1997 because they were unfair to landlords.

Meanwhile, H.B. 189 would require landlords to give tenants copies of lease agreements and written notice of extensions. It would also require that landlords keep the heat turned up to at least 68 degrees in cooler months.

Current Montana law says once a year-long lease is up, the tenant, by default, moves to a month-to-month lease, if the lease is not formally extended. However, some renters said landlords are automatically extending annual leases by another year, without proper notice.

But the MLA said it did not see this as an issue for Legislature because such cases are rare. It also took issue with what it called the arbitrary temperature assigned to the reasonable heating clause. Current law requires landlords to provide "reasonable" heating to tenants, but Kottel said that's too ambiguous.

Congress votes to renew CHIP program

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly last week to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the U.S. Senate appears ready to follow suit.

The state-federal program provides health insurance to children from low- and moderate-income families.

In November, Montanans voted to expand the program to cover more children, but that action is contingent on federal reauthorization. The Bush administration had vetoed a renewal of the program, but incoming President Barack Obama has said he expects CHIP reauthorization to be among the first bills he signs into law.