{"id":15902,"date":"2017-01-24T23:00:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T06:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=15902"},"modified":"2017-01-25T08:52:15","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T15:52:15","slug":"governor-touts-spending-vetoes-new-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2017\/01\/governor-touts-spending-vetoes-new-investments\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor touts investments, ‘constructive dialogue’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Guv\"<\/a>

Freddy Monares?UM Community News Service<\/p>

Gov. Steve Bullock delivers his State of the State address in Helena on Tuesday.<\/p><\/div>\n

Editor’s note<\/strong>: This is an updated story covering the governor’s speech<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Gov. Steve Bullock outlined his goals for the 2017 Legislature on Tuesday during his third State of the State address, including a responsible state budget, infrastructure, business growth and education.<\/p>\n

While addressing a joint session of the House and Senate, Bullock named common values, including, \u201cFiscal responsibility. Education. Infrastructure. Job creation. Caring for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must engage in thoughtful, rational, and constructive dialogue with one another,\u201d Bullock said.<\/p>\n

Immediately following Bullock\u2019s address, Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, delivered a rebuttal that chastised Bullock for what Knudsen called a lack of leadership, while outlining the Republican response to many of the governor\u2019s proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight Gov. Bullock outlined his priorities,\u201d Knudsen said. \u201cBut so far he\u2019s provided little to no leadership in how to achieve these priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two leaders painted contrasting pictures of Montana\u2019s economy, with Bullock touting growth and Knudsen comparing it to the sinking Titanic.<\/p>\n

Bullock pointed to Montana\u2019s lower unemployment rate and household income growth. But he also said that with global commodity prices down, and uncertainty in Washington, the state still faces challenges.<\/p>\n

He also made his opposition to some proposals clear, most notably the transfer of public lands to the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not send bills to my desk that even suggest or start down the path of transferring our public lands out of public hands,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cBecause that will not happen\u2014not on my watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bullock first addressed Montana\u2019s budget, a contentious issue throughout the 65th legislative session. He reiterated the need for a $300 million ending fund balance, as well as his commitment to $102 million in state agency spending cuts.<\/p>\n

He then chastised the Legislature for its\u00a0proposed cuts to the Child and Family Services Division. He also said it \u201cdoesn\u2019t make sense\u201d to not place an additional tax bracket on high-income Montanans. Many Republicans have criticized this as detrimental to Montana\u2019s job creators.<\/p>\n

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>He also named infrastructure, another hot topic throughout the session, as a priority. Bullock said he recognizes that all legislators see the need for infrastructure investment, but said, \u201cMontanans need you to do more than recognize it. They need you to vote for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bullock named two projects in particular that are key to the Democrats\u2019 infrastructure plan\u2014renovation of Montana State University\u2019s Romney Hall and the construction of a veterans home in Butte.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s … craft a bipartisan infrastructure proposal,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cLet\u2019s make sure we fund our state share of highway projects, and make these some of the first bills to reach my desk\u2014not the last.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 2015 session, the proposed infrastructure plan died at the last moment, failing by a single vote.<\/p>\n

While addressing public education, Bullock asked legislators to increase investment in K-12 funding by $30 million, as well as $2 million for internet connectivity programs and $1.5 million for special education. He also signaled commitment to continuing investment in Native American language programs, as well as tribal colleges.<\/p>\n

Bullock also called for investment in early childhood education, which he says 45 other states have already established.<\/p>\n

Addressing business growth, Bullock asked legislators to implement a $1,000 tax credit for each apprentice taken on by a business, increasing to $2,000 if the apprentice is a veteran.<\/p>\n

He further called for tax decreases of up to 75 percent for businesses that\u00a0purchase new equipment for the first five years. He also asked for passage of the Paycheck Transparency Act, saying \u201cWorkers\u2014and especially female workers\u2014should not be penalized for their prior wage history or for asking if they are getting paid the same as coworkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor signaled his intent to address climate change, but added that he did not believe that meant divestment from fossil fuels. He outlined various plans for carbon capture implementation, including a proposed joint partnership with the state of Wyoming that would commit $3 million for investment in carbon-capture technologies.<\/p>\n

Outlining his goals for health care, Bullock specifically cited mental health services as a priority. He proposed a $1 million commitment to funding of suicide prevention pilot programs, saying he was \u201chaunted\u201d by the fact that Montana leads the nation in youth suicide.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to increased funding for senior services and child protective services as priorities.<\/p>\n

In his rebuttal, Knudsen said the Legislature should work toward removing impediments to small business growth, allowing Montana\u2019s job creators to \u201cgrow, create and innovate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knudsen said Bullock\u2019s proposed budget was unrealistic, and he actively ignored the \u201cthe financial reality in front of him\u201d due to being in the midst of a campaign.<\/p>\n

After noting Bullock\u2019s minimal discussion of the potential for coal plant unit closures in Colstrip, Knudsen said he will be sponsoring a bill that will help keep those two units open, in spite of \u00a0owner Puget Sound Energy\u2019s announcement that they close by 2022. Knudsen did not offer any\u00a0specifics of the bill.<\/p>\n

Knudsen also applauded President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order to continue development on both the Keystone and Dakota Access oil pipelines, saying they would have positive impacts for the energy sector. He also noted his excitement about working with Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, who is expected to become secretary of the Interior under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to working with my colleagues and the governor, as we work to reach results,\u201d Knudsen said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the people of Montana sent us here to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Siebert is a reporter with the UM Community News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism and the Montana Newspaper Association.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This is an updated story covering the governor’s speech. Gov. Steve Bullock outlined his goals for the 2017 Legislature on Tuesday during his third State of the State address, including a responsible state budget, infrastructure, business growth and education. While addressing a joint session of the House and Senate, Bullock named common values, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":15903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[1867,1728,782],"class_list":["post-15902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montana","category-news","tag-austin-knudsen","tag-montana-house","tag-steve-bullock","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}