June 7th is just around the corner and ballots need to be mail prior to the day they are due or will need to be dropped off at the elections office or other voting location at the fairgrounds.   Remember voting is important and who you select does make a difference!

05.14.21

​   The Board of Regents voted UNANIMOUSLY to litigate HB 102 (guns on campus) on the question of constitutional authority early on the morning of May 19, 2021.
 
   Each regent cited the overwhelming public comment in favor of litigation, including handwritten notes. They were referring to the advocacy efforts by MFPE and its partners.
 
   Soon, educators, students and Montanans will know who truly is responsible for student and staff safety on college campuses across Montana.

   Please use this link to thank the Regents for their courageous vote. 
from Amanda Curtis, MFPE president

​   There are always shenanigans in the last few days of any session.  This is when legislators start amending otherwise fine bills with any bad idea that didn't pass on its own.
 
   HB 651 is one example. It received some terrible amendments before passing out of Senate State Admin committee. It will be voted on second reading in the Senate TODAY AT 1 p.m.
 
   The bill limits our democracy by adding all kinds of unnecessary red tape to our current ballot initiative process.  There's no reason for this--our current ballot initiative process works great. In fact, this union and our partners successfully used the ballot initiative process to pass Montana's graduated minimum wage law in 2006!
 
 Have you called your Senator lately?

   Many thanks to all of you are in order, but first we have one last hill to climb.

   Yesterday, HB 588 (reclassifying public employees to political appointees) DIED 20-30 in the SENATE! SB 232 (highway patrol compensation) PASSED 94-4 on second reading in the House! However, HB 279 will be voted on in Senate Finance any day.
   
   The stress level is turned up to "eleven" in the Capitol right now as legislators suffer retaliation from the Governor's office and their own caucus and/or see their favorite bills die. Everyone is tired and homesick and wants to just be done. Before they go home, they will decide the fate of HB 279.
 
   HB 279 creates a private school voucher system (a policy that Montanans oppose).HB 279 raises the allowable tax credit for donations to private and for-profit schools from $150 to $200,000 (a 133,333% increase). Corporations are also entitled to the tax credit.
 
   HB 279 reduces our general fund, thereby reducing the funds available for not just our public schools but all public works such as public roads, public water systems and public safety to name only a few. 
 
   HB 279's fiscal note shows it will cost the state millions over the next four years--money that should be used to fund public education. Worse, the bill will likely cost Montana a dollar-for-dollar cut to our ARP funding--money we should use to recover from the pandemic and build critical infrastructure.
 
   HB 279 will force schools to choose between raising local property taxes and cutting programs (Fixed costs don't go down when a handful of students leave for private schools.)
 
   Two-thirds (2/3) of private schools are in the seven (7) largest counties. The consequence of this is that  this tax credit bill leaves rural students out.
 
   Equalizing the public/private sides of this bill won't fix it--Montanans can already donate to public schools for tax benefit, and they will never do so at a level commensurate with private school funders.
 
   HB 279 allows the Governor and "his rich buddies" to fund their personal private school pet projects (like the Petra Academy) and forsake their duty to pay for the roads, bridges and public schools that we ALL use.
 
If you haven't called your Senator lately, please do so as soon as possible.

Bad news:  HB 588, to allow the Governor to appoint up to 10 percent of all public employees, passed out of committee on Monday and is likely up for a vote in the full Senate tomorrow.
 
Scary news:  We are expecting the supporters of HB 329 (public funds to private schools) to "blast" the bill out of committee today or tomorrow in the full Senate.
 
Good news:  There may be enough common sense in this Senate to stop both of them.
 
The following contains the links to the one-pagers on privatization and power grabs.
 
Use this online form, call the Capitol Switchboard at 444-4800, or use the personal email addresses and phone numbers. Remember, texts work well, too!
 
Have you called your local Senator lately? It might be time to check in with each of them.
 
More about HB 588:

• Allows Governor to appoint up to 10% of every state agency
• Employees should be hired based on skill set, not relationships
• Appointees have no pay scale, no benefits, no workplace rights and no grievance process
• There's no fixing this bill--it needs to get voted down

More about HB 329:

• Forces public schools to send their per-pupil funding to private, for-profit, and/or religious programs
• The programs don't have to be located in Montana
• The programs don't have to provide special education accommodations or even be accredited
• HB 329 could cost public schools up to $187 million in revenue in just one year. 
• You can find the fiscal note here. 
• HB 329 is blatantly unconstitutional.  You can see the legal review note here.
• We offered amendments to fix the bill, and these were rejected

HB 279 passed out of the House and is being heard in the House Appropriations committee RIGHT NOW. The Governor's office is here in support of the bill.
 
Under current law, Montanans can receive up to $150 of their MT tax obligation forgiven for contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations (SSO's). SSO's fund tuition to private (primarily religious) K-12 schools.  SB 279 increases the allowable tax credit to $200,000, costing the state nearly $25 million in revenue over the next two biennia. You can find the fiscal note here.

HB 279's fiscal note shows it will cost the state $25 million over the next four years--money that should be used to fund public education. HB 279 will force schools to choose between raising local property taxes and cutting programs (fixed costs don't go down when a handful of students leave for private schools). 
 
Two-thirds of private schools are in the seven (7) largest counties, so this tax credit bill leaves rural students out. 
 
HB 279 creates a private school voucher system (a policy that Montanans oppose).

HB 279 raises the allowable tax credit for donations to private and for-profit schools from $150 to $200,000 (a 133,333% increase). Corporations are also entitled to the tax credit.  
 
HB 279 reduces our general fund, thereby reducing the funds available for not just our public schools but all public works such as public roads, and public water systems, and public safety to name a few.  
 
Here is the MFPE one-pager on all of the school privatization bills.

Have you called your Representative yet?