Interim Committee Appointments

By Rep. Chas Vincent Libby

Just a quick note on the recent interim committees I have been appointed to. I am very happy to report that I was appointed to the Environmental Quality Council (EQC) and its sub-committee. The EQC is composed of 17 Montana citizens: six are state senators; six are state representatives; four are members of the public; and one, a nonvoting member, represents the Governor. The EQC is the largest of the interim committees and is charged with providing a public forum to deal with environmental issues, and to review administrative actions. At our first meeting we discussed our interim agenda and created one sub- committee. The committee of the whole will spend the majority of its time discussing conservation easements on state lands and global warming legislation. The remainder of the committee?s time will be spent carrying out our legislative duties of agency oversight. The EQC has the statutory obligation to provide oversight to three agencies; Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP), Department of Natural Resources (DNRC), and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). With so much to cover we formed a five member sub-committee that will go into much more detailed scrutiny and report its findings to the committee of the whole. This oversight committee is very important in keeping a watchful eye on agencies administrative rule making ability. It is also a great place to ask questions about current or previous happenings inside the agencies. For these reasons I wanted to have a seat on the sub-committee, and I am very honored to report to you that I have been given the opportunity. The next EQC meeting is on September 13th, the oversight committee will meet a day previous on the 12th. FWP will be the first agency up for inquiry, please contact me with any questions or comments you would like relayed. No issue is too big or small. cvvincent@hotmail.com (406) 293-1575