Every spring, college students throughout Montana obtain their end-of-term grades displaying in the event that they’ve mastered their lessons. Equally, as the top of the Montana legislative session has drawn to an in depth, it’s time to judge whether or not the Legislature met its most essential aim: creating alternative and bettering the lives of Montana employees, households, and retirees.
The Republican legislators ended the 68th session by drawing nationwide consideration for his or her makes an attempt to silence a Democratic legislator who outspokenly disagrees with their agenda. I’d prefer to remind Montana Republicans that May doesn’t make Proper. All Montanans need to be handled with respect and have a voice of their authorities.
This newest Republican double customary shouldn’t distract from the Legislature’s failure to enhance the lives of Montanans. As an alternative of working with Democrats, Republicans failed to assist Montanans with the issues they face daily.
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This report card makes use of three common sense requirements to measure the Legislature: Did it shield our private freedoms? Did it promote equity? And did it assist households? Sadly, on all three counts Gov. Gianforte and the Republican legislators didn’t make a constructive distinction within the lives of Montanans.
Did the Legislature shield Montanan’s private freedoms?
As an alternative of defending our private freedoms, Republicans have created essentially the most intrusive authorities in state historical past and injected it into nearly all facets of our personal lives.
Whether or not it is interfering with a lady’s relationship together with her physician, controlling what Montanans can watch on their cellphone, binding the palms of these investing your cash for retirement, or limiting what books you may learn, the Legislature repeatedly attacked the freedoms and liberties we maintain expensive.
Did the Legislature promote equity?
The Legislature handed tax cuts, however they predominantly went to the rich. As an alternative of specializing in working residents, Gov. Gianforte and Republican legislators gave the wealthiest one p.c of Montanans a tax reduce of $6,000 per 12 months. Center-class Montanans, nonetheless, will see a good thing about solely $70 — lower than the price of a dinner and film evening for a household of 4.
The Republican legislators ignored the pressing wants of working households, renters, retirees, resident hunters. As an alternative, at each alternative, when given the prospect, the Republicans selected to make life simpler for the highest 1%, second-home homeowners, personal landowners, and the wealthiest within the state.
Did the Legislature assist households?
Nursing properties throughout Montana are closing, 12 within the final 12 months alone, leaving many households determined to seek out protection for his or her family members. The governor’s response? To suggest a funds that continued to short-change long-term care and would have resulted in additional nursing properties closing. Solely strain and onerous work by the Democrats introduced in extra wanted funding.
Turning to schooling, the Republican legislators harmed the power of public colleges to coach Montana’s subsequent technology. Public colleges are the spine of our communities, however the Legislature as an alternative handed much more personal faculty tax credit that can drain wanted funds from our colleges.
As any scholar is aware of, getting passing grades requires onerous work and a spotlight to element. Sadly for all of us, Montana Republicans flunked the course work that will have helped Montana working households.
Certainly, the one class that Republicans may cross is one targeted on extremism, scorching air, and hypocrisy. The radicals of the Freedom Caucus have captured management of the Legislature, representing a hardline ideology that embraces a self-righteous “we’re all the time proper” perspective that sees itself as superior to common Montanans and our lengthy historical past of respecting our neighbors and supporting our communities. The clearest instance of the Montana Republican Social gathering’s embrace of extremism is their resolution to silence a duly elected legislator, Rep. Zooey Zephyr.
In the long run, Montana taxpayers are the losers. This legislative session ought to have targeted on addressing the issues households face daily. But it surely failed. Now Montanans — because the citizen homeowners of our authorities — want to carry the Legislature accountable. Residents deserve actual, concrete options for everybody who calls Montana house.
Sheila Hogan is the chief director of the Montana Democratic Social gathering and former director of the Division of Public Well being and Human Companies.