Kendall Cotton: Eroding Montana’s Constitution

Shortly after celebrating the 50 yr anniversary of Montana’s Structure, a proposed poll measure seems to be an try and forged it apart.

Backers of I-191 search voter approval to designate the Gallatin and Madison River watersheds as Excellent Useful resource Waters (ORW), a protected standing solely present in nationwide parks and wilderness. In doing so, I-191 circumvents the financial protections afforded to Montanans by our Structure and units a harmful precedent for the long run.

Whereas legislative our bodies have authority to levy taxes and applicable new spending, regulators may “spend” taxpayer {dollars} by imposing laws that value property homeowners dearly to adjust to. Montana’s Structure accounts for this by guaranteeing property homeowners the due technique of legislation in regulatory proceedings and simply compensation earlier than a “regulatory taking”— when authorities actions end result within the proprietor’s property curiosity being taken or broken.

Thanks to those vital protections, Montana state companies have rigorous processes in place to afford due course of and guarantee coverage selections are constitutionally and economically sound. As an example, the legislation requires all state companies to conduct a radical evaluation of how every regulation impacts property homeowners previous to implementation.

I-191 bypasses constitutional protections to impose the desire of a well-connected Bozeman primarily based legislation agency backing the proposal. The proposal has already been twice rejected by the state Board of Environmental Evaluation (BER), which concluded that it could lead to a big regulatory taking, to not point out be virtually and economically unfeasible.

Legal professional Basic Austin Knudsen echoed BER’s findings when he discovered I-191 legally inadequate, saying the proposal “unquestionably” causes a regulatory taking with out offering simply compensation. After failing to persuade regulators to approve their proposal, I-191 backers are actually betting they will persuade voters to do their bidding.

Montanans can solely guess on the penalties to the state if I-191 passes. Not like when this proposal was beforehand submitted to regulators, this time there might be no environmental affect assertion, no social or financial affect evaluation and no state or native authorities session.

If the 2007 affect assertion from the Division of Environmental High quality (DEQ) is any information, Montanans can anticipate I-191 to destroy financial exercise in Gallatin County. DEQ estimated the proposal would cut back the residential growth allowed in Large Sky by 89% and industrial growth by 99%. Native jobs in development, actual property, transportation, and native authorities could be misplaced. Inexpensive workforce housing initiatives, so desperately wanted, could be shut down.

An unlimited coalition of teams has lined as much as oppose I-19I, once more predicting detrimental results to the native economic system, property homeowners and environmental restoration. One other frequent theme introduced up by many is the hurt performed to the sturdy collaborative course of at the moment in place with the regulating companies.

Quite a few native outside and conservation teams have labored tirelessly for years collaborating with these companies on river entry and restoration initiatives. Now they fear these initiatives might be destroyed by I-191, science and native enter be damned.

The precedent set by I-191 may open pandora’s field for dangerous laws imposed by controversial activist teams with out of state big-money backing. Any radical group with sufficient cash to affect voters may merely select to sidestep regular regulatory process to impose pricey laws through the initiative course of, depriving Montanans of the financial protections owed to them by our Structure.

The Montana Structure’s assured financial protections are foundational to our lifestyle, shielding Montanans from radical, big-moneyed influences and making certain native collaboration round state coverage selections. By circumventing Montana’s Structure, I-191 erodes these vital financial protections. If something, we must be including extra emphasis on the financial and societal impacts of laws, not much less.