State budget bill taking shape

Clayton Murphy

HELENA (UM Legislative News Service) — The Montana House of Representatives has approved a preliminary version of House Bill 2, the 63-page bill that sets the state’s budget for the next two years.

The draft, clocking in at $16.6 billion, passed after a full day of discussion and debate Wednesday with both bipartisan support and opposition.

Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, is chair of the House Appropriations Committee and the lawmaker charged with carrying the bill.

“You know, this budget, there are areas I personally would like smaller, there are areas I would like bigger. But overall, it represents good work,” Jones said. “Whether you're from Sydney to Ravalli, from Libby to Baker, this budget will do good work for Montanans. It will do good work for people everywhere.”

Jones said the draft lands about $15 million below where the bill started. More than $7 billion — or roughly 44% of the budget — is slated for health and human services. Medicaid is set to receive more than $1.7 billion, the highest number in the section.

Public education takes up 21% of the budget. The natural resources section and the transportation portion together come in at a close third at 18%. About half of the state budget comes from federal funds, to the tune of about $7.3 billion.

Democrats’ votes on the budget were split. House Minority Leader Katie Sullivan, D-Sullivan, said she thought the bill was “OK.”

“The reasons for the no votes were various: people wanting to see more funding into education, more funding into human health and services,” Sullivan said. “It's alright. It’s not the best we've seen or best we think could be possible. And it's not the worst, so we're kind of down the middle here.”

The debate drew to a close after just shy of eight hours. The draft will continue to get additions as bills head to the appropriations committee, and will be heard by the Senate closer to the session’s end.