House Speaker Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, confirmed that he is considering passing two Republican-backed bills Wednesday and abruptly adjourning the House before the Senate has an opportunity to consider anything in the special session.
The move, if it occurs, would also guarantee that the bill requested by Gov. Brian Schweitzer will die.
Senate President Mike Cooney, D-Helena, said he was disappointed House GOP leaders are considering a plan that cuts the Senate entirely out of the process.
“I would hope that Republicans and Democrats in the Senate would have an opportunity for input,” he said, adding that he would like to talk to Sales to pound out a plan in which both chambers can work together.
Sarah Elliott, the governor's spokeswoman, said Schweitzer respects the legislative process and will respect whatever decision lawmakers come up with.
“We think everything we asked for is important, but if it doesn't pass, it doesn't pass,” she said.
The 90-day regular session ended in chaos in late April when the two houses adjourned without passing a state budget for the next year. That forced Schweitzer to call them into special session in May.
Schweitzer called the special session last week, saying lawmakers needed to transfer $55 million from a state savings account into the state's checking account to pay Montana's forest fire bill. The session was planned for just one day.
Schweitzer's plan called for moving a total of $61 million from a pool of unspent money into the state treasury. Some $39 million of that would go to the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the main agency responsible for firefighting, to cover this year's firefighting bill. So far, firefighting costs are around $41 million, state figures show, and the state has just $16 million readily on hand to pay it.
Schweitzer would also move $3 million to the Department of Military Affairs to cover that agency's firefighting costs for this year.
Additionally, Schweitzer wanted to set aside another $10 million for DNRC for next year's fire season and boost his own governor's disaster account from $16 million to $25 million to cover forest fires and any other disaster that may occur in the next two years.
Finally, Schweitzer sought to change the way fire disasters and emergencies are declared. Right now, the governor can declare official disaster or emergencies for a total of 100 days. Such declarations are necessary to spend money from the governor's disaster fund and to activate the Montana National Guard.
Schweitzer argued that fire season now lasts longer than 100 days. He proposed suspending the time limit for fire disaster and emergencies declarations between July and October. That way the governor could make one emergency declaration and it would remain in effect until October.
All of those requests are contained in House Bill 1, sponsored by Rep. Tim Callahan, D-Great Falls.
Republicans opposed parts of Schweitzer's requests, particularly the elements that extended fire disaster and emergency declarations and which increased the amount of the governor's disaster account. Republicans argued that increasing the governor's disaster declaration power could give the governor's office too much power and that such a decision should be considered in a regular legislative session, not an emergency, one-day event.
Rep. Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek, is sponsoring two bills that encapsulate the GOP plans. The first bill, HB2, deals only with paying for firefighting both this summer and next and is almost exactly what the governor requested. Ripley's sets aside the same amount of money for firefighting, but does not increase the governor's disaster account to $25 million. Additionally, the bill does not suspend the time limit on official fire disaster and emergency proclamations.
Ripley's other bill, HB3, would create a $25 million revolving firefighting account within DNRC.
All three of the bills were the subject of a special joint hearing of the Senate and House budget committees Tuesday afternoon. The committees didn't make any decisions on the bills.
Rep. John Sinrud, R-Bozeman, and chairman of the joint committee, said he expected the panel to make decisions on the bills Wednesday.
Republicans control the House by a thin 50-49 margin. Constitution Party member Rick Jore of Ronan is the final vote and the former Republican often votes with the GOP.
Because of the rules that govern the Legislature, it is possible for the House to make its own decisions on the bills and adjourn before the Senate has a chance to deliberate any of the bills.
All bills dealing with state appropriations must start in the House. After the House passes the bills, they go to the Senate. But in this case, the House can adjourn immediately after it passes the bills, making the Senate's actions on the bills essentially meaningless.
Sales said he has been talking with House Republicans to see if they want to pass Ripley's two bills, plus the bill that approves money to pay for the special session itself and then adjourn.
He said he hadn't yet seen all the House Republicans and couldn't say if all his fellow GOP lawmakers agreed to the plan. But he said that to not adjourn before the Senate deliberates the bills runs a risk. If the House remains in session after it has sent the bills over the Senate, the Democrat-controlled Senate could always change the bills to reflect the Democratic plan and adjourn itself, thereby sticking the House with the governor's plan.
Sales said Tuesday he has always supported paying the fire bill and leaving Helena as quickly as possible.
Sinrud said he agrees with the plan, but would like to put $40 million in the revolving firefighting account.
“We're here to do the people's business and we'll do it in a day,” he said.
The special session is set to formally begin Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Special session all about firefighting
By JENNIFER McKEE Missoulian State Bureau
HELENA - Here, in question-and-answer format, is an explanation of the issues that Montana lawmakers face in the special legislative session that begins Wednesday.
Q: How does Montana pay for wildfires?
A: Traditionally, lawmakers do not budget money for fires. When forest fires ignite, the state spends money from the governor's emergency account. If that money runs out, the state agency responsible for firefighting, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, spends money from elsewhere in its budget. Montana's state budget covers two years. State firefighters can borrow money from the second year of their own budget. Then, at the next scheduled legislative session, the agency asks lawmakers to pay back their empty accounts.
Q: Why is this year different from other years?
A: Since 2000, the number of acres burned in Montana has increased dramatically, along with the cost of battling wildfires. Twice in the last seven years, the state has used federal money to pay the state's share of the total firefighting bill. This year, it appears less likely that the federal government will pay the state's bill, which is estimated at more than
$35 million. Additionally, this fire season came in the first year of the state's two-year budget cycle. That means the state would have to get through two fire seasons with no money budgeted for fire before the Legislature is next scheduled to meet in January 2009. State fire officials have concluded that there is not enough money on hand to pay this year's firefighting bill.
Q: When fires grow very large, federal fire managers are called in to oversee the firefighting. Doesn't the federal government pay for that?
A: Not always. The responsibility to pay for forest fires is based on who owns the land the fires burn, not on how large the fire is. If a fire burns federal land, the federal government pays for it. If the fire burns tribal lands, tribal agencies pay for it. If a fire burns state or private land, the state is responsible for it. Many times, fires burn a combination of all three, meaning state, federal and tribal agencies will share the fire costs. If fires threaten homes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for some of the fire costs, regardless of land ownership.
Q: Why did Gov. Brian Schweitzer call the special session?
A: Schweitzer called the session so lawmakers can transfer money from the state savings account into the state checking account to pay for wildfire suppression.
Q: If the state has the money to pay for wildfires, why did the governor need to call lawmakers together to spend it?
A: When lawmakers wrote the state budget this spring, they left approximately $180 million unspent. It is the proposed ending fund balance or surplus in the budget for the two-year period that ends in mid-2009. Schweitzer wants to spend $55 million of this money to pay for wildfires this year and next year. The Montana Constitution gives the Legislature alone the power to budget state money. The $180 million unspent dollars has not been budgeted for anything and no governor has the power to spend money that has not been budgeted.
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