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Lawmaker Proposes Moving Legislative Sessions to Even Years

Democratic Rep. Kathleen Williams introduced House Bill 571 in the House State Administration committee Monday

By Dillon Tabish

HELENA — A Bozeman lawmaker proposes moving Montana’s legislative sessions to even-numbered years to give newly elected lawmakers more time to learn the system, hold committee meetings and propose more thoughtful legislation.

Democratic Rep. Kathleen Williams introduced House Bill 571 in the House State Administration committee Monday. The committee planned to vote on it Tuesday.

Currently, new lawmakers immediately serve in a legislative session. In the case of House members, they then have 18 months “to be thoughtful, work in a bipartisan manner on interim committees, get into details of issues,” and then if they come up with a good idea they have to get re-elected again to propose it, Williams said.

State senators are elected to four-year terms.

Williams said her bill also would give newly elected governors more time to hire staff and propose their own budget, rather than present a budget prepared by the previous administration.

Under the bill, lawmakers would convene for up to six days in January 2017 to organize, adopt rules and a budget for the legislative session. Lawmakers would also make standing committee appointments, confirm gubernatorial appointments, train new lawmakers and organize for interim work. After the House Appropriations and House or Senate Taxation committees adopt a revenue estimate and budget for the 2018 fiscal year, lawmakers would reconvene to pass that budget and then recess.

Lawmakers would meet in January 2018 for a 90-day session, minus the length of the 2017 budgeting session.

After that, organizing and interim committee appointments would take place during six days in December of odd-numbered years, followed by an 84-day session in even-numbered years beginning in January 2020.

“I think it has the ability to eliminate potentially lots of superfluous bill drafting if you have people realizing they’re working on the exact same bill topic,” Williams said.

As a former legislative staffer, Williams said she thinks there’s room for improvement in the way the Legislature is run.

The bill also proposed moving the primary elections to August so lawmakers wouldn’t be campaigning while in session, but the committee amended the bill to remove that provision.

Republican Sen. Kris Hansen, of Havre, introduced a similar bill in 2013 when she served in the House. It was tabled in committee.