2007 Legislature: Accomplishment to Keep Montana on the Move

Democrats in the Legislature rolled up their sleeves and made real progress to improve the lives of ordinary Montana families—from help with soaring property taxes on the middle class to investing in public school classrooms and lowering the cost of college, to addressing a health care crisis that leaves too many Montana families vulnerable.

We provided tax cuts, made investments in Montana priorities, held the line on spending, and established a Rainy Day fund for the state. We cut more taxes for more Montanans than at any time in history.

Democrats gave permanent property tax relief, created better-paying jobs, provided quality, affordable healthcare and made education a top priority. And we delivered a sustainable budget with a strong ending fund balance -- without raising taxes one dime.

Moving Our Economy Forward with Renewable Energy  Montana can and will lead the nation in clean and green energy with wind power, ethanol, bio-fuels and solar potential.  Democrats passed the “Clean & Green Energy” bill to help Montana develop more alternative and renewable energy sources to solve the world-wide issue of global climate change, dependence on foreign oil, and to create good jobs and economic growth in distressed comunities of our state (HB 3).

Historic Tax Cuts for Homeowners Ordinary Montana homeowners deserve a meaningful tax rebate, and that’s what Democrats gave them.  After all, ordinary homeowners saw their property tax bills skyrocket more than 50% on average during twelve years of Republican neglect and failure, while multi-national corporations received tax giveaways repeatedly. And resident homeowners will spend the rebate on Main Street to help our economy grow. As we promised, Democrats passed a $400 property tax rebate for Montana homeowners (HB 9).

Investing in Montana’s Classrooms From Kindergarten through college, families need quality education.  Democrats made sure that the Montanans have the option of all-day Kindergarten for our children (SB 2).  We also froze the cost of tuition for students in Montana’s university system—putting an end to spiraling tuition increases for the first time in 20 years. Middle class kids deserve the opportunity to attend Montana colleges at an affordable price, and to reach the American Dream (HB 2).

Health Care for Montana Families Affordable health care is essential for Montana’s uninsured children and families.  That’s why Democrats extended the Montana Children’s Health Insurance Program [CHIP] to more children and working families to get them the health care they need. (SB 22)

Help for Military Families Democrats provided meaningful financial support to the families of Montana’s heroes with one-time grants to members of the National Guard if they are called to federal active duty for extended periods of time. When a member of National Guard is activated their entire family shares the Call to Duty.  We supported these families as they make the adjustment to mom or dad going overseas. (HB 179)

Protecting Our Outdoor Heritage Our hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation heritage is what makes Montana special – it is our way of life and it should be preserved for generations to come. Democrats passed a measure to create more state parks and fishing access sites in all regions of the state. Many state parks get crowded at certain times of the year. We don’t need anything fancy, but we need more places for families to camp and recreate without having to make reservations far in advance. (HB 4)

Overcame Republican Obstruction to Accomplish These ThingsDemocrats accomplished all of these things for Montana families in spite of relentless obstruction from Republican legislators, who resolved from the start to block key help for Montanans in favor of multi-national corporations and wealthy out of state trophy-home owners.