Legislative session begins with first female presiding officer
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Janna Taylor
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It was an honor to sponsor Taylor Rost as a Senate Page. She was phenomenal and very helpful. The page director told me what a wonderful job she did. Our area has great young people.
The Montana legislature has its first female presiding officer, Senator Debbie Barrett from the Dillon area. President Barrett asked me to nominate her. What a fitting way to conclude Montana’s 100 years of female suffrage.
Last week we organized committees. My Local Government Committee has no new legislators and is full of expertise. The same is true for Senate Taxation. Of course, re-appraisal will be a major issue as will tax simplification. The good news is that we do have some extra money. I still hesitate to call this a surplus. If the state has left over money it should return the over-taxation to the taxpayers.
The price of a barrel of oil is still a concern. Our forecasters predict that the price will stabilize by 2017, but our next quarter will see a reduction. It is difficult to predict how much of a reduction we will see. Lower gas prices means more tourists and more money in our pockets.
I am part of the committee that works on the revenue estimate. And I am part of the committee that spends the money. My General Government sub-committee will review several state agencies. We look at their personnel budget, new program requests and on-going spending.
Your state legislators do not get to go on exciting junkets like the fed guys. I have had a tour of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Revenue so far in my legislative career. Until now. Thursday morning I will ride up to Great Falls on a Black Hawk helicopter. My General Government sub-committee reviews the budget for our Department of Military Affairs. After the Senate floor that day we will tour Ft. Harrison in Helena. What an honor it will be to shake the hands of our service people. Most of their budget is federal dollars. Still, the legislature gives all state government the spending approval regardless of the origin of the money.
Many of you know that each Senate floor session begins with a prayer. This year the prayer was from Pastor Johnson of Helena. On Thursday mornings I get up pretty early to attend his Bible study — it’s a great way to start a day.
Cold and snowy Helena weather makes for good study time in my office.
Please let me know if you get a chance to visit the Capitol. It is an honor to serve you in this beautiful building. Leave me a message at (406) 444-4800. My cell phone is (406) 253-8766, but it is off most of the day.
Feel free to email me at sen.janna.taylor@mt.gov. Always remember that I work for you.
