This session continues to be unusually quiet. There may be things going on behind the scenes, but at this point things are moving along rather slowly. Contacts in the press are saying that it is so quiet they are having a hard time finding stories to report on… The Transmittal deadline is on Feb. 26th. This marks the middle of the legislative session, and the point at which bills originating in one chamber must be passed and sent to the other chamber in order to remain under consideration. With the exception of revenue bills, any bills not transmitted by Feb 26 will die, so the next two weeks may be busy, or we may see a record number of bill drafts die before being introduced, heard or passed by the originating chamber. The Republicans have released their alternative to Medicaid expansion, so the discussion will begin to heat up on that topic.
HB 5 “Provide for infrastructure development” has been referred back to committee. Governor Bullock is working hard to keep the bill intact and not have it broken into separate bills. The following article highlights the arguments from both sides:
http://flatheadbeacon.com/2015/02/10/bullock-pushes-build-montana-act-kalispell/
HB 63 “Revise Licensing/regulation of engineers and land surveyors” has passed both chambers, been signed by both the Senate President and the Speaker of the House and is awaiting the Governor’s approval.