tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34682070551769043832011-06-06T17:44:43.977-06:00The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.comBlogger291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-68499342380021192982009-04-29T09:41:00.008-06:002009-04-29T10:26:02.445-06:00

By Bob DeckerApril 29, 2009“Sine die” means “without day,” but because direct Latin-English translations are frequently awkward and unrevealing, a more applicable definition for the term is “without any future date being designated.”The latter meaning is what “sine die” holds in a legislative context, as in, “We’re adjourned, we’re leaving, and, barring a special session made necessary by either

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-51197386207126256352009-04-09T09:52:00.004-06:002009-04-09T10:21:39.411-06:00

By Bob DeckerApril 9, 2009Montana’s Coal Trust Fund earned a place in the state constitution in 1977 after voters approved the idea of directing 50 percent of the coal severance tax collected each year into a permanent trust. After the Coal Trust grew to a sizable savings account for the state, the earnings of which funded public works projects, it became eminently raidable. “The rainy day is now

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-41719198748740467902009-04-07T16:15:00.006-06:002009-04-07T16:32:39.992-06:00

By Kim Abbott, Montana Human Rights NetworkApril 7, 2009We at the Montana Human Rights Network are angry and we are frustrated, but our fight to ensure that the Healthy Montana Kids Plan is fully funded, as mandated by Montana Voters, continues. Yesterday the Network, with allies, engaged in direct action and descended on the Senate Finance and Claims Committee to protest the cut of 15,000

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-34889995145213771062009-04-02T09:15:00.005-06:002009-04-02T09:28:32.474-06:00

By Molly SevertsonApril 2, 2009One of The Policy Institute’s priorities in the 2009 legislative session has been the repeal of Montana’s oil and gas tax holiday, which has cost the state more than $500 million in revenue since 2003. In "Montana’s Oil and Gas Tax Holiday: Analysis and Recommendation for Change" (here), we report that, according to recent academic studies, production tax rates have

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-64496149647347423022009-04-01T09:38:00.011-06:002009-04-01T12:51:05.889-06:00

By Bob DeckerApril 1, 2009Suppose you own a business that sells widgets. In a given period of time, would you rather sell 100 widgets at a nickel apiece, or 95 widgets at a dime apiece?In determining a tax policy for oil and gas production in the state, the Montana Legislature has adopted, in defiance of common business sense and in servility to industry, a nickel-a-widget approach. The

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-63969474724985337982009-03-25T15:47:00.003-06:002009-03-25T15:59:20.765-06:00

By Bob DeckerMarch 24, 2009Bills to lower the property tax on business equipment have been introduced in the current session by Rep. Bob Lake (R-Hamilton), Sen. Ryan Zinke (R-Whitefish), and Sen. Roy Brown (R-Billings). Lake’s bill (HB 240) hangs in limbo in the House Tax Committee, while Zinke’s bill (SB 315) was tabled and Brown’s bill (SB 490) passed, both today, by the Senate Tax Committee.

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-89460304829655413932009-03-17T08:57:00.005-06:002009-03-19T16:47:34.137-06:00

By Bob DeckerMarch 17, 2009It’s too soon in the Montana Legislature to define the stakes of the budgetary end game, but enough time and votes have passed to identify what progressive taxing or spending ideas still have life in them. The Senate Tax Committee tabled Sen. Kaufmann’s bill to establish an earned income tax credit (EITC) for Montana, but the House Tax Committee passed the EITC bill of

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-26803634517105734562009-03-07T21:24:00.002-07:002009-03-07T21:27:19.790-07:00

By Bob DeckerMarch 7, 2009The highest priority in tax policy for the Republicans this session is repeal of the business equipment tax. The idea is shared, at least in part, by Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat.The “business equipment” currently being taxed by the State of Montana is personal property used in business, such as construction equipment, heavy vehicles, tools, tractors, commercial

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-19377711258724749472009-03-03T10:40:00.003-07:002009-03-03T10:45:47.259-07:00

By Tom Power, Economics Department, The University of MontanaMarch 3, 2009The Republican leadership in the Montana Legislature is up in arms over the decision by the Southern Montana Electric Cooperative to abandon plans to build a coal-fired electric generator outside of Great Falls. The complaint is a familiar one: Montana’s environmental laws protecting air and water quality and our

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-89079436154652885512009-02-27T22:50:00.005-07:002009-03-12T09:22:24.494-06:00

By Bob DeckerFebruary 27, 2009In 1989, one of the best reasons for celebrating Montana’s hundredth birthday was the state’s progressive tax system. It generally expected residents to support public services based on ability to pay, neither oppressing low-income Montanans nor demanding excessively from the wealthy.Today, after 20 years of legislative generosity to business interests and

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-17755222517220337712009-02-25T09:11:00.006-07:002009-02-25T09:47:49.032-07:00

By Anne Hedges, Montana Environmental Information CenterFebruary 25, 2009Today was a rough day in the legislature for those who believe the public should have the right to challenge bad government decisions. Sadly, HB 483 passed on second reading in the House (tomorrow will be the final House vote). This is one of the bills that makes it much harder to appeal air permits, water permits and other

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-36222223691467396032009-02-24T10:36:00.009-07:002009-03-12T09:22:51.055-06:00

By Bob DeckerFebruary 23, 2009Near the end of the hearing on SB 258, the bill of Sen. Christine Kaufmann (D-Helena) to suspend Montana’s “holiday” tax discount on oil production when the price of oil exceeds $80 per barrel, Senate Tax Committee Chairman Jeff Essman (R-Billings) summoned Eric Stern, an adviser to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, for questioning. Stern had testified earlier in the hearing in

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-39706239038020788862009-02-17T10:40:00.002-07:002009-02-17T10:43:26.879-07:00

By Bob DeckerFebruary 17, 2009The oil and gas industry has enjoyed 30 years of receiving tax breaks from the Montana Legislature (see list of significant bills here). The most generous reduction occurred in 1999, when the Legislature passed and Gov. Marc Racicot signed into law legislation that both reduced basic severance tax rates on oil and gas production and enacted “holiday,” i.e.,

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-10270884297264712012009-02-17T10:27:00.007-07:002009-02-17T10:51:38.574-07:00

By Jim Elliot, Former State Senator, Trout CreekFebruary 17, 2009Well, the bill that would have designated the “whole wheat huckleberry pancake” as Montana’s official flapjack has flopped. The idea for the bill arose from students at Franklin Elementary in Missoula who wanted to participate in the legislative process. They are not the first and will not be the last to request legislation that

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-62369204375961886072009-02-08T16:00:00.003-07:002009-02-17T10:23:46.765-07:00

By Bob DeckerFebruary 8, 2009The question, “What is a conservative?”, is longstanding, allegedly dating to 1819, when Chateaubriand appropriated the word for use in a political context. An intriguing answer to the question was provided in 1953 by (conservative) author Russell Kirk, who described conservatism as “the negation of ideology.”These days, many so-called liberals out-conserve so-called

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-37989381393331595332009-02-05T11:37:00.006-07:002009-02-05T12:16:54.266-07:00

By Bob DeckerFebruary 5, 2009Sen. Christine Kaufmann (D-Helena) is the sponsor of Senate Bill 277, which would enact a gross receipts tax on retail sales greater than $25 million per year from a single store location. The tax would be assessed only on stores that fail to meet a basic threshold for compensating employees. Revenue from the tax would be used to help pay for health insurance benefits

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-13482536748426734482009-02-05T08:53:00.003-07:002009-02-05T11:59:20.232-07:00

By Al Smith, Montana Trial LawyersFebruary 5, 2009The year 2009 is here. And, since it is an odd year, so is the 61st Montana legislature. There are times that I think that the framers of our Montana constitution were at least a bit tongue in cheek when they set up our system of the legislature meeting in odd years, for an odd assortment of characters, issues and dramas it surely is.Part of my

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-9032430461411661982009-02-03T14:06:00.005-07:002009-02-17T10:45:03.931-07:00

By Jim Elliot, Former State Senator, Trout CreekFebruary 3, 2009Is there a change in taxation in store for Montana’s oil and gas industry? There are a couple of legislators who have introduced bills to either rescind a tax break oil companies got in 1993 or impose a sort of surcharge on production. Governor Schweitzer seems to be enthusiastic about the latter. Best of luck, but my money’s on the

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-83591839830188715392009-01-31T18:57:00.005-07:002009-03-12T09:23:36.950-06:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 31, 2009* h/t Dorothy M. JohnsonOn Friday, January 30, the House Tax Committee heard HB 312, sponsored by Rep. Bill Beck (R-Whitefish). Rep. Beck’s bill seeks to increase the maximum population for a town utilizing Montana’s resort tax from 5,500 to 10,000.The resort tax was established in 1985. It allows communities that depend significantly on revenue from tourism to enact

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-46978566179838005762009-01-28T20:43:00.010-07:002009-01-29T10:51:07.413-07:00

The Montana Legislature will be taking up these very important and related issues in the next week.Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) strongly encourages you to attend these hearings, whether just to listen and learn or, better yet, to speak your mind.FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009, at 3 PM, in State Capitol room 422The Senate Natural Resources Committee will hear SB 180 (Sen. Ron Erickson

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-56658339615081315202009-01-23T11:25:00.004-07:002009-02-05T12:15:27.809-07:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 22, 2009“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-6373820430977358962009-01-18T10:50:00.007-07:002009-02-17T10:49:12.881-07:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 18, 2009"In modern Montana history, there is one defining moment, and that defining moment is deregulation."- Cal Sweet, founder of Kalispell Electric, February 18, 2001The "defining moment" occurred on May 2, 1997, when then-Governor Marc Racicot signed into law SB 390, the "Electric Utility Restructuring and Customer Choice Act," known otherwise and since as energy

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-81888856233439309582009-01-13T10:49:00.019-07:002009-02-17T10:48:56.745-07:00

By Jim Elliott, Former State Senator, Trout CreekJanuary 13, 2009One of the campaign promises made by Montana Republicans in the 2008 campaign was to eliminate the “Business Equipment” tax. It’s not the wisest thing to do, but that’s never stopped a politician.The Business Equipment tax is applied to those items that are used daily by businesses both large and small in pursuit of profit. The

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-64054950430822918112009-01-13T09:58:00.013-07:002009-02-17T10:48:38.855-07:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 12, 2009On Friday, January 9, Sen. Christine Kaufmann (D-Helena) presented a bill to change the state income tax credit for energy conservation investments in a building. Sen. Kaufmann introduced the bill on behalf of the Environmental Quality Council, a bipartisan committee that meets between regular legislative sessions and of which Sen. Kaufmann is a member. Under current

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-25509494242241165532009-01-13T09:18:00.012-07:002009-02-17T10:48:25.516-07:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 11, 2009“I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my hatchet.” – Abraham LincolnHouse Republican Leader Scott Sales (R-Bozeman) made news late last week when it was discovered that, in his opening speech to his colleagues, he mistakenly attributed a series of political maxims to Abraham Lincoln.After the Lee Newspapers State Bureau investigated the quotations and informed Rep.

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-78046214293090418492009-01-13T08:45:00.012-07:002009-02-17T10:48:06.340-07:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 11, 2009One of the linguistic misfortunes of Montana’s history is that the state’s infamous “copper collar” is not remembered by the more accurate – and still relevant – term, “corporate collar.” Copper, after all, was merely the medium through which elite, often out-of-state interests controlled Montana’s people, institutions, and landscapes during the time when the Richest

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-78400012152507089732009-01-08T09:51:00.004-07:002009-02-17T10:47:47.503-07:00

By Bob DeckerJanuary 8, 2009After the mass swear-in and other opening day ceremonies on Monday, January 5, the Legislature embarked on some instructional exercises, intended to introduce its members – especially, no doubt, the newcomers – to fundamental procedural concepts and the constitutional requirements of lawmaking.On Tuesday morning, the House and Senate gathered in the House chambers to

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-45428151753154858642008-12-03T13:32:00.007-07:002009-02-17T10:47:27.070-07:00

By Bob DeckerDecember 3, 2008Joe Biden, Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Laurence Summers, Tom Daschle... agents of change for Barack Obama. People shouldn’t be surprised. Obama ran as a centrist, perhaps banking on the thought that the change sought by so many just meant Anybody But Bush. By that standard, even John McCain offered change, at least 10 percent of the time. Change

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3468207055176904383.post-24361407705721800052008-12-03T13:27:00.006-07:002009-02-17T10:46:26.451-07:00

By Bob DeckerDecember 3, 2008Montana’s legislators don’t clock in for the upcoming session until January 5, 2009, but there’s no shortage of ongoing political activity to augur the issues and tone of the sixty-first Montana Legislature. The subject of money invariably occupies center court, so the upheaval of the global economy now underway makes the question of how Montana’s state government

The Policy Institutenoreply@blogger.com0