Sen. Chas Vincent outlines 2015 legislative agenda

State Sen. Chas Vincent is planning on being very busy when the Montana Legislature begins its biennial session on Jan. 5.

Vincent, a Republican from Libby, is focused on six bills at the moment. However, he said he “will probably have a dirty dozen or so” by the end of the session.

The first bill on Vincent’s radar for this session is one that was passed last session, but vetoed by Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat. The bill would change the method by which the state appropriates taxes generated by metal mines.

Under current law, 43 percent of the taxes generated by metal mines are earmarked for various statutory appropriations, with the remainder going into the state’s general fund to be allocated by the legislature every two years.

Under Vincent’s proposal, 47 percent of the taxes generated would be reserved for a fund that will be used to provide cleanup and reclamation of legacy mine areas. This fund would clean up old sites where legal responsibility hasn’t been established or in which companies responsible are out of business.

The bill would leave 10 percent of the tax money available in anticipation of another bill that would return that money to the counties in which the mines exist.

A second bill being carried by Vincent would standardize the process for reporting and inspection of mine tailing impoundments. The bill would create standardized inspection and reporting criteria to enhance compliance with regulations. Vincent said he is working with industry representatives and Montana Department of Environmental Quality officials to create a bill that is effective and helps push compliance instead of enforcement and punishment.

The senator also hopes to turn the Hunters Against Hunger program into a permanent fixture for Montana hunters. According to Vincent, the program was a one-year test that will expire at the end of 2014 if nothing is done to extend it. The program allows hunters to donate meat from game animals harvested to local food banks. It also allows hunters to donate additional money when they purchase their licenses.

Vincent said the program raised more than $77,000, in addition to several thousand pounds of meat, during its first year. The program was initially sponsored by Sen. Kendall VanDyke, a Billings Democrat, who has since retired. He asked Vincent to carry a bill that would make the program permanent.

The biggest and most complicated issue facing Vincent this year is funding and oversight of the Montana Water Court. Vincent chaired the Senate Water Policy Interim Committee and dedicated the off period to studying the court and the ongoing funding and oversight issues related to the water rights adjudication process.

Vincent’s initial plan was to sponsor legislation that would ensure funding for the Water Court through 2021, when preliminary decrees on water-rights claims are expected. In addition to the funding, the bill also would establish benchmarks for court performance and provide legislative oversight to monitor progress and financial burn rates.

Funding for the Water Court will expire in early 2017, unless new measures are adopted. As that date nears, uncertainty grows for the Water Court staff.

“These claim reviews are highly technical and require experienced staff to work through the tens of thousands of them and stay on the 2028 final decree timeline,” Vincent said. “The chief judge of the Water Court and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation were worried that they would start losing some of their more experienced staff as 2017 approached, and the Water Policy Interim Committee that I chaired unanimously agreed.”

Montana legislative rules, however, stipulate that appropriations bills must originate in the House of Representatives. Due to that rule, Vincent’s bill was split into two separate pieces of legislation, with oversight and timelines established in the Senate bill and the funding piece starting in the House.

In addition to these bills, Vincent said he “will be introducing other important pieces of legislation designed to help enhance the atmosphere that existing and entrepreneurial new wealth creation needs to be successful.”

Vincent will be chairing the Natural Resources Committee and serving on the Fish and Game and Judiciary committees this year and promised to keep the voters informed of his work during the session.