Guns, drones, Senate vacancies and charter schools

Two gun bills were vetoed by the governor, and a drone licensing bill failed in the House. Meanwhile, legislators looked at a bill on filling vacant U.S. Senate seats and a bill to create public charter schools.

• Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed two gun bills on March 27. House Bill 298, sponsored by Rep. Bill Harris, R-Winnett, would have allowed most adults to carry a concealed weapon in Montana without a permit. House Bill 203, sponsored by Rep. Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, would have prohibited any state or local official from enforcing any future federal restrictions on gun or weapon-magazine ownership.

“While I will fiercely defend the Second Amendment rights of our citizens, I cannot support an absurd concept that threatens the safety of our communities by not providing for the basic fundamentals of gun safety or mental health screening,” Bullock said in his veto message for HB 298.

The legislature advanced about a dozen gun-rights bills this session. HB 298 passed the House by 56-43 on Feb. 19 and the Senate by 28-21 on March 12, largely along party lines. HB 203 passed the House by 58-42 on Feb. 9 and the Senate by 27-22 on March 12, also largely along party lines.

Wittich said he was disappointed by Bullock’s veto, saying Montanans were at greater risk of federal overreach on gun rights.

Bullock said that under the logic of HB 298, there would be no need for Montanans to get driver’s licenses or airplane pilot licenses. He also noted that he vetoed a bill similar to HB 203 in the last legislative session because it “puts law enforcement officers in the position of violating laws they have sworn to uphold.”

• A bill that would have enacted a licensing procedure for unmanned aircraft — commonly called drones — failed to pass the House on March 28 on a 48-49 vote.

House Bill 593, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Essman, R-Billings, had been amended by the House Judiciary Committee to prohibit flying drones after dark or within 25 feet of a non-consenting person. It also would have allowed local governments to establish regulations for drones.

Essman said his intent was to stop surreptitious use of drones.

• A bill that requires a special election be held to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat was passed by the Montana Senate on March 30 by 43-6. It was scheduled for a hearing in the House State Administration Committee on April 9.

Senate Bill 279, sponsored by Bradley Hamlett, D-Cascade, uses similar language to that used for a vacant U.S. Representative seat, requiring a special election within 85-100 days after a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant. The bill calls for a referendum that would be presented to the voters in the November 2016 election.

The bill drew interest after Gov. Bullock, a Democrat, appointed Lt. Gov. John Walsh, also a Democrat, to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat who retired to become the ambassador to Japan.

• A bill that would authorize the establishment of charter schools in Montana as a way to provide additional educational opportunities was passed by the House on March 31 by 52-47. It was scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee on April 13.

House Bill 596, sponsored by Rep. Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, is a revised version of his 2013 charter school plan. Knudsen said one of the main goals of his bill is to remove significant oversight from the state Board of Public Education, which adopted the federal Common Core educational standards in 2013.

Charter schools have been established in 43 other states. They are privately managed and typically hold students accountable through goals outlined in a contract with the state. As drafted, HB 596 would create a new public charter school commission to fill the oversight position of the state Board of Public Education.

Opponents said the bill would divert public education funding to institutions that the state would have no control over. Opponents also claimed charter schools have been shown to attract fraudulent activities since they were first established in 1991.

A legal review note by the Legislative Services Division stated that HB 596 as drafted “may raise potential constitutional questions,” especially the section in the Montana Constitution that creates a “board of public education to exercise general supervision over the public school system and other such public educational institutions as may be assigned by law.”