Legislative Briefs - Week 13

Lawmakers Table Bill That Would Have Offered Free School Meals for All

The House Education Committee tabled a bill 12-1 last week that would have provided funding for free school meals to all students in the public school system.

Rep. Melissa Romano, D-Helena, sponsored House Bill 863, which would require $22 million yearly of the state's general fund to be appropriated to the Office of Public Instruction, which would then distribute the money to public schools to pay for students' breakfast and lunch.

"Kids need nutritious food to learn and grow, and to be healthy. Unfortunately in some of our counties one in four children are battling hunger, which is impeding their ability to learn in school and without proper nutrition to fuel their minds and bodies a portion of our tax dollars spent on our public schools are simply going to waste," Romano said at the bill's hearing on March 27.

Romano said when children are better fed they are more able to concentrate and their test scores increase. She said that being able to feed children during a critical time of growth in their life will help to better the development of every child's academic potential.

"By feeding all our kids at school we address the fundamental barrier of stigma and shame. Not long ago my family experienced hardship and my four children qualified for free school meals. While I can recognize how helpful the assistance was and I'm extremely grateful it was an option for my family, I can still remember my feelings of inadequacy as a mother and failure," Romano said.

Lorianne Burhop, chief policy officer at the Montana Food Bank Network, was one of 14 supporters of the bill at its committee hearing. She said school food programs are a vital part of nutrition to Montana's children, and that this bill would ensure that every child has the proper nutrition available to them.

"Many children miss out on the benefits of school meals due to the financial cost involved. Our current structure for school meals, which tiers children into paid, reduced price and free categories creates administrative burdens for schools," Burhop said.

She said these tiers also create a stigma placed on students when they receive free or reduced meals, because that leads to their peers knowing their economic status.

"As a country we value public education. We provide teachers, books, bus rides, physical activity to our students, but an essential piece of this educational experience is missing. School meals are just as important to students' academic success as textbooks and transportation," Burhop said.

There was no opposition at the bill's hearing.

Self-Defense in Schools Bill Passes

A bill that would allow students to use self-defense in bullying cases in schools has passed both the House and the Senate on party-line votes, and will now head to the governor's desk if the House approves amendments.

Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, R-Belgrade, is sponsoring House Bill 450, which would give students the ability to use physical force to defend themselves against an act of physical bullying.

"It's a bill to protect the right to self-defense in a school setting. Currently many schools employ a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to physical fighting or force on school grounds and school-sanctioned events. That means if someone attacks another student that student that's being attacked is just supposed to throw their hands up and say beat me up," Sen. Barry Usher said when presenting the bill on the Senate floor.

Usher said he doesn't think it's right that students don't have the ability to protect themselves against a bully or attacker, and that every person has the right to defend themselves no matter the setting.

The bill passed the House with a vote of 69-27 on March 1, and then by the Senate 29-19 on March 30.

Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, spoke in support of the bill on the floor and said that the part that is the most important to him is a section that states that school districts must investigate all physical altercations between students if self-defense is involved.

"In my career in education, I saw frequently two kids fighting, and the administration took and disciplined both of them equally. That was easy for the administration. They didn't have to do any investigating, when everyone knew there was one kid that was the perpetrator," Regier said.

Sen. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte, opposed the bill and said it removes the ability for schools and teachers to maintain a safe learning environment for students. She said the state has bullying prevention programs that teach students how to act in these cases.

"We all know that it's tough being a kid today especially if you're being bullied. When we were growing up we didn't have half of the things or pressures that our kids have today. We didn't have cell phones, cameras, computers, or technology at our disposal," McClafferty said. "I believe we live in a society that needs to have laws and rules, and these laws and rules are put into place so that we can all live in a safe society."

Two Bills That Aim to Determine What the State Does With Marijuana Money Advance

A bill that would allocate the revenue from the state's tax on recreational marijuana revenue has taken a step forward in the Montana Legislature.

Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, is sponsoring Senate Bill 442, which proposes that marijuana tax revenue be appropriated to state special accounts.

"I think we've made some pretty smart changes here that are intended to invest in rural Montana's roads, lands, and hunting opportunities while providing support for our veterans and a growing need for drug treatment," Lang said.

The bill was amended and passed out of the Senate Finance and Claims unanimously on March 30. SB 442 was previously passed out of the Senate Taxation Committee 7-5 on Feb. 28, and then passed second reading on the Senate floor 33-17 on March 14.

SB 442 would redistribute marijuana tax revenue to six different areas over a two-year period:

● 20 percent would go to funding for county road creation and maintenance.

● 11 percent would be allocated to the state's HEART fund for addiction treatment and behavioral health programs.

● 5 percent would fund tax relief for veterans and surviving spouses across the state.

● State parks, public trails and facilities, and non-game wildlife accounts would each be allocated 4 percent of the money.

● The bill establishes a new Habitat Legacy Account that receives 20 percent of the money, that is then allocated to habitat projects and conservation across the state.

● The remaining 38 percent would be allocated into the state's general fund.

The bill is being endorsed by advocates of the Montana Habitat Program and aims to honor the original spending plan laid out in ballot Initiative 90, which voters confirmed in 2020.

The House Appropriations Committee tabled House Bill 462, by Rep. Marta Bertoglio, R-Montana City, on March 27. The bill would have taken the marijuana tax revenue and put it toward addiction recovery, corrections and law enforcement programs.

Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, is sponsoring House Bill 669, which would appropriate all of the tax revenue into the state general fund and avoid allocating money to state special accounts.

The bill passed the House Appropriations Committee on a 15-8 vote, and then passed the House on an initial vote of 65-35 and will now face one more vote before moving to the Senate.

Mercer said the reason for the bill was to allow for more oversight when appropriating the new money, instead of sending it to special accounts with no legislative oversight.

Bill Allowing Direct-Care Midwives More Access to Medications Passes

A bill that would expand the drugs available to direct-entry midwives across the state is headed to the governor's desk for his signature or veto.

Rep. Jodee Etchart, R-Billings, is sponsoring House Bill 392, which would add medications like local anesthetics and postpartum anti-hemorrhaging agents to the list of drugs midwives could obtain and administer. However, the bill would not give midwives the ability to prescribe drugs to patients.

"Montana is fifth per capita in home birth in the U.S. This is a wave that has happened here folks. Certified direct-entry midwives are trained in their four-year education and are asking to update Montana law to accurately reflect the education of direct-entry midwives," Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, said when endorsing the bill on the Senate floor.

HB 392 passed the House of Representatives unanimously on Feb. 22, and passed the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee 8-1 on March 24. The Senate passed the bill on a unanimous vote on Friday to send it to Gov. Greg Gianforte.

Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia that allow midwives to carry prescription-level drugs to aid mothers with the birthing process.

There are two types of midwives recognized by the state: direct-entry and certified nurse midwives. A certified nurse midwife holds a nursing degree and already has the ability to administer prescription-grade drugs. Direct-entry midwives do not attend nursing school, but are certified in the field.

Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, shared support for the bill on the floor and said that this is a necessary bill for the future of patient safety in the state.

"My daughter used midwives for both of her babies and not only was it a tremendous experience for her, she got great care for a fraction of the cost that you would have had to pay at a hospital. So I just want to encourage everybody to support this bill," McGillvray said.

Senate Weighs Bill That Would Reduce Tax on Cigars

The Montana Senate is advancing a bill that would reduce taxes on "premium cigars" in the state.

Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson is sponsoring Senate Bill 122, which would add premium cigars to a list of nicotine products that are exempt from the state's 50 percent tax rate on tobacco products.

"Imagine if you had a business and the product that you sold had a 50 percent tax on it at the wholesale cost, now that same product that you're selling is being sold into our state by a business who lives out of state and delivers that product right to your doorstep. They are not subject to that tax," Hertz said. "You have an unfair competition here."

A premium cigar is defined as: "Any roll of tobacco that is hand wrapped in 100 percent whole tobacco leaf, is not wrapped by a machine, and does not contain a filter, tip, or any characterizing non tobacco flavor."

SB 122 would drop the premium cigar tax down to 35 cents per cigar.

Under current law, moist snuff and cigarettes are the only nicotine products that are exempted from the 50 percent nicotine tax in the state. Moist snuff, or chew, has a tax rate proportional to its weight at 85 cents per ounce. Cigarettes have a tax rate of $1.20 per 20 cigarettes in a box.

SB 122 passed out of the Senate Taxation Committee with an 8-4 vote on March 22, and passed a second reading on the Senate floor 40-10 on March 27. It now faces a final vote in the Senate.

"They have a storefront, they pay property tax, they have employees who contribute to the community, and they're providing a tax base and are responsible businesses to our communities. This bill is about fairness," Hertz said of in-state cigar sellers.

Hertz said the bill would drop revenue to the state by about $99,000 a year. But, he said, it is unknown how accurate those projections are because it's hard to tell how much the decreased tax could increase overall sales of premium cigars in the state, which would lessen the loss in tax revenue.

Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester spoke against the bill and said premium cigars can be extremely expensive, so a set 35-cent tax would occasionally only be half a percent tax on an item. He said he isn't completely against the bill and thinks it's an important issue to look at, but it still needs work done on it.

"The way that it is right now I can't vote for it," Tempel said.

Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena also spoke against the bill and said that this bill isn't a fix and this problem should be solved by giving the Department of Revenue the authority to collect the state tax from out-of-state businesses that sell premium cigars and any other products online.

"Our small businesses in Montana are getting short changed because they're taxed, and some of these online retailers are getting off scot-free. So we need to give the department the means. This bill is not the method to do that, and frankly I'm not even sure this is an issue of taxation. It's an issue of consumer practice," Dunwell said.

Caven Wade is a student reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. He can be reached at [email protected].