A strange day in House somehow got stranger

From the dome to your home. Ramblings, mutterings, keen observations and things you ought to know out of Helena from the mind of Phil Drake.

STRANGE WEEK: This has been one of the oddest weeks I’ve had so far this legislative session, some of it caused by others and a thing or two that I brought on myself.

I walked into the House Bill 2 hearing Tuesday thinking it was going to be a daylong event. It’s the state’s $10.3 billion spending plan for the next two years and figured it would be a knock down, drag out fight between Republicans and Democrats that would go into the wee hours of the morning.

But it was pretty cut and dry and done, after a lunch break, a little after 2 p.m. A motion was made to pass HB 2.

And that’s when it got a little weird.

When it came time to vote some Republican members were missing and some members left the chambers to look for them.

House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls, weighed in on the oddness of the situation.

The stray GOP members returned to the chamber with House Speaker Great Hertz, R-Polson, saying those members were confused, but were now ready to vote.

I spoke to one of them afterwards who said they simply lost track of time and were used to the sessions starting at 1 p.m., not 2 p.m.

So what really happened? I take them at their word, but you never know.

The bill was approved and moves from the House to the Senate.

LET’S GET FISCAL: Last week’s marathon meeting on Medicaid expansion was fairly grueling day that included about nine hours of testimony and other discussion.

However, what was lacking was a fiscal note with Rep. Ed Buttrey’s House Bill 658, which is one of two new proposals for Medicaid expansion. The fiscal note tells you the financial impact to the state.

Rep. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, the chair of the House Human Services Committee, hoped to vote on HB 658 and the other Medicaid expansion proposal, Rep. Mary Caferro’s HB 425 on March 22.

Democrats favor HB 425 and Republicans, those that would approve Medicaid expansion, support Buttrey’s HB 658.

However, the fiscal note for HB 658 was still not available as late Thursday afternoon. So we are told it may be Monday or Tuesday until the committee can vote on the proposals.

Stay tuned.

FOSSIL FUEL: The state Senate had some fun with a fossil bill recently. It's House Bill 229, about who owns fossils when found on a property.

Some of the lawmakers referred to themselves as "fossils" when discussing the bill.

It overwhelmingly passed, prompting the clerk to read the final tally as 49 fossils for and 1 fossil against.

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?: The Montana Electrical Cooperative and Montana Telecommunications Association put out a legislative guide for every legislative session that is just fantastic.

This public book put out by these two groups has phone numbers, emails and other contact info for lawmakers.
I have several copies: one or two at my desk at the capitol, one at home and one in my brief case. But I didn’t have one with me Tuesday, and I really regret it.

I was tweeted something of note said from the House floor and came up with a wrong name for a lawmaker. Had I had my little guide with me, I would have double checked, and checking with my cellphone didn’t seem practical at the time.

The sad thing is, I know the lawmaker whose name I bungled. We’ve talked, chatted, he’s easily recognizable.

So I typed in the name I thought was right and it was completely wrong. Like 180 degrees, not even close to the ballpark right and “what the heck is wrong with you” wrong.

So Rep. Casey Schreiner obviously saw my tweet and fired back, asking where my fictional lawmaker was from.

Figuring I was in an in for a penny in for a pound situation, I said this lawmaker was from Palookaville. I apologized for my error and have been feeling like a jackass ever since.

Just like a resident of Palookaville.

SCARY STUFF: As the debate on HB 2 was going on, in another part of the Capitol another meeting was going on.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was hearing HB 302, a constitutional amendment to define person, a bill that would define person upon conception and cannot be deprived "of life, liberty, or property without 15 due process of law."

Basically it is a bill regarding abortion.

I saw some tweets from the meeting with some people saying they were alarmed by some of the comments made during testimony by the bill's supporters, with some people considering those comments to be threatening. Some folks said the comments were not following decorum.

I watched the meeting and no doubt there were some disturbing statements made. I guess what stood out to me was the attitude of some of the people testifying. There were threats and insults. I can see why some of the senators were concerned.

I wonder if that approach has proven to be successful for them.   

TABLES TURNED: A few days ago I got an email saying medical exam tables have been donated to Aaniiih Nakoda College to help the school in growing its Certified Nursing Assistant Program.

This program hooks up graduates to health care jobs on the Fort Belknap Reservation.

Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney joined Department of Administration Director John Lewis and Labor Commissioner Galen Hollenbaugh to celebrate the growth of Aaniiih Nakoda’s apprenticeship program since it started in 2016, according to a news release.

Lewis donated the unused tables to the Department of Labor & Industry, which will be transferred to Aaniiih Nakoda and help students complete the clinical portion of the apprenticeship curriculum. The tables could help the program take on more students in the coming years as interest in the program increases. 

State officials say as baby boomers retire over the next decade, it is critical for Montana to prepare for a worker shortage. A key to addressing this challenge is to build a skilled workforce and remove barriers to employment.

Dome Lights appears Sunday, unless the villagers catch me. Email me at pdrake@greatfallstribune.com or call 406-422-0772. I’m based in Helena. Mail me at P.O.Box 1601, Helena, MT 59624.