Senate Republicans are moving quickly on an infrastructure bill. The Senate Finance and Claims committee on a 15-3 vote Friday afternoon approved a nearly $99 million dollar bonding bill. The action sends Senate Bill 367to the floor for debate.
The Bullock Administration supported the Senate bill but spoke against the House Republican’s infrastructure package this morning.
“This is too little and too low; build more or vote no. We can do better than this,” said Budget Director Dan Villa.
House Bill 645 contains just over $33 million dollars in bonding for water, sewer, roads, and school projects. It’s a fraction of the $150 million sought by the Democratic Bullock Administration in House Bill 14. The Republican majority has said it will table HB 14 and instead offer alternatives to fund projects.
Villa called HB 645 a stripped down bill because it does not contain money to renovate Romney Hall at MSU or a bridge loan for the Southwest Montana Veterans Home. Both were in the Bullock’s administration’s proposal.
“We have rallies and conversations about how we care about seniors, just not veterans in Butte. We care about education, just not students at MSU but all of the K-12. We have a very hard time getting those to comport,” Villa said.
Villa said the administration worries this bill is headed down the same path that doomed infrastructure funding in the 2015 session.
The House at one point last session Senate Bill 416did have the necessary 67 votes to pass a bonding bill. Villa reminded the House Appropriations Committee the bill died on the session’s final day because it could not get to that threshold again on the third and final vote.
“It failed by one vote for political reasons and we are deathly afraid we are on that exact same path today as this bill is structured,” said Villa.
Republicans defended HB 645 as a starting point. The Chair of the Appropriations Committee said this morning the committee is scheduled to take executive action on the bill Monday.
The Senate Finance and Claims Committee, meanwhile, held a hearing on another Republican infrastructure proposal. Basically Senate Bill 367 mirrors the House proposal in funding the public works and public school projects.
The biggest difference, SB 97 would also bond for:
- Romney Hall at MSU
- Southwest Montana Veterans Home
- MSU Billings science building
- Great Falls College of Technology expansion for dental hygiene
“The governor does believe it is the best vehicle available for achieving a successful infrastructure package this session,” said Budget Director Dan Villa.
The addition of the capital building projects raises the price tag to just shy of $99 million.
The only opponent at the hearing was the Montana Association of Counties over technical concerns.
In the past, some fiscal conservative legislators have opposed bonding for projects because they question the wisdom of the government taking on more debt.
“I respect that position. I think that’s viable,” said Sen. Eric Moore, R-Miles City, the bill’s sponsor.
“But come with another solution because these buildings are not going to go away and they’re not getting any younger and we’re going to have to continue to maintain them and we are occasionally going to have to build a new one. So if this isn’t a solution you can live with in any way shape or form roll up your sleeves and find me another one.”
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Senate Finance and Claims Committee added some technical amendments before voting to approve the bill.
