Lakers 2007 Legislative Priorities

Updated April 19, 2007

The 2007 Legislature is in full swing. Bills have been proposed on several topics of interest to the Flathead Lakers.

We encourage you to contact your legislators to support bills that will help protect clean water. You can learn more about bills, their status, hearings, etc. at the Montana Legislature web site. Below, each bill number is a link to the status page for that bill. For more information, please get in touch with Robin Steinkraus at 406-883-1346.

Bills the Lakers Support

House Bill 7: Appropriates $300,000 for water quality monitoring in the North Fork. Replaces HB-189 as the legislative vehicle for money for the North Fork.

Ready for Governor Schweitzer’s signature. Passed house 99-1 on March 26. Amended in committee in senate, approved by senate 50-0 on April 16. Returned to house. Passed second reading in the house on April 18, third reading on April 19.

House Bill 189: This bill appropriates $308,000 in funding for water quality monitoring in the North Fork River and supports Montana’s capacity to effectively respond to British Columbia coal development proposals with funding for travel and a new transboundary specialist position based at the Flathead Lake Biological Station. It will assure that Montana has a legally and scientifically defensible baseline record of water quality in the North Fork. Montana is encouraging B.C. to match the monitoring portion of the funding to support monitoring on the B.C. side of the border.

Executive Director Robin Steinkraus testified in support of this bill before the House Appropriations Committee. As of this writing, the committee has not yet voted. There is strong bipartisan support for this bill among Flathead legislators. Rep. Doug Cordier of Columbia Falls is sponsoring the bill. His cosponsors are Rep. Mike Jopek of Whitefish, Rep. Mark Blasdel of Somers, Rep. Bill Jones of Kalispell, Sen. John Brueggeman of Polson, Sen. Dan Weinberg of Whitefish and Sen. Greg Barkus of Kalispell. Rep. Janna Taylor of Dayton is leading the effort in the House Appropriations Committee.

HB-189 is dead, but it served its purpose. $300,000 was added to HB-7, Reclamation and Development Grants, and passed the house 99-1 on March 26. It has been referred to the senate's finance and claims committee, and will be heard on April 4.

Senate Bill 244: This bill would increase the fine for lakeshore protection violations to an amount not less than $500 or more than $5,000. This bill is sponsored by Sen. Dan Weinberg of Whitefish. The Lakers submitted a letter of support to the Senate Local Government Committee.

Tabled in committee. Heard in the house local government committee on March 20., tabled on March 30. Passed the senate 35-15 on February 7 and was transmitted to the house the same day. Flathead legislators voting for the bill: Weinberg. Flathead legislators voting against the bill: Barkus, Brueggeman & O'Neil.

Senate Bill 24: SB 24 would prohibit the sale of new carbureted 2-stroke marine engines and personal watercraft (PWC) powered by those engines. The Lakers submitted a letter of support to the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

Probably dead as of Feb. 26. Missed transmittal deadline. Tabled in committee on January 22. The probability that it will be taken off the table is vanishingly small.

Other bills of interest

The Flathead Lakers board will be considering several other bills currently proposed as well as new issues that arise as the session unfolds. These bills include:

Senate Bill 345: the Montana Stream Legacy Act. This bill establishes setbacks and vegetated buffers from rivers and streams to help protect water quality and prevent flood damage. It requires setbacks of 250 feet and vegetated buffers of 100 feet from tier I streams (includes the three forks of the Flathead River, the Stillwater River, Whitefish River and Swan River) and setbacks of 150 feet and vegetated buffers of 50 feet from tier II streams (perennial tributaries of tier I streams that drain at least 25 square miles). It prohibits new construction and septic systems within the setback areas, itemizes uses that are authorized in the setback area, provides a variance process, and grandfathers existing uses. This bill is sponsored by Sen. Bob Hawks of Bozeman. A hearing is scheduled before the Senate Local Government Committee on February 6th.

Probably dead. The second reading in the senate was postponed indefinitely on March 30 on a 32-18 vote.

House Bill 184: Because new development can become a barrier to public access to popular recreation access sites, this bill recommends that local governments incorporate a strategy to preserve public access to rivers, lakes and streams in their growth policy. It is sponsored by Rep. Mike Jopek of Whitefish. A hearing was held before the House Natural Resources Committee on January 22nd.

Probably dead as of Feb. 28. Missed transmittal deadline. Tabled in committee on February 1. Missed the Feb. 28 transmittal deadline.

SB 452: Sponsored by Carol Williams (D-Missoula), this measure establishes a program to protect working farms, forests, and watersheds.

Technically alive, but not likely to survive. Tabled in committee on April 4. Heard in house natural resources committee on March 30.