Seeking common ground
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We are moving into the last week before transmittal break. That led to a very heavy load of committee hearings last week. All bills, except for some revenue bills, must be passed out of either the House or the Senate by Friday.
The water compact had a hearing and was subsequently passed out of committee by an 8-4 vote in the Senate Judiciary committee. It will be on the Senate floor this week as it continues its journey. Senator Vincent did a very nice job of education for legislators. There was a tremendous amount of support from individuals and groups from around the state.
The opportunity for Medicaid expansion is heating up. There are now about three different ideas for ways to move forward. I had a very detailed talk on this issue with Governor Bullock about two weeks ago. We agreed to disagree on his expansion bill with the intent to work on finding common ground. I was elected to work on solving issues, not just passing them on. He then invited me to fly with him to Ronan to tour St. Luke hospital and talk issues with the board of directors last Wednesday. The Governor was very impressed with the facility and the staff at the hospital.
In education last week we heard four Common Core bills that took about five hours to hear. It became very clear during the hearing that the education community supports local control. This means that although the standard is accepted by the State Board of Public Education, the way the curriculum is developed and the materials utilized by the individual schools and teachers for their students is all local. We also have another attempt to make guns in K-12 schools legal again.
Should be an exciting week. Thank to everyone for sending your thoughts on issues. My e-mail is: dansalomon12@gmail.com.
