Letter from Steve Gunderson

Jan. 2 marked the first week of the 2017 Legislative Session, the 65th to be exact, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to participate.

When the folks of South Lincoln County chose me to carry their voice to Helena, I knew it would be a huge responsibility. But it’s also easy to forget how exciting it can be as well.

So far, I have enjoyed my time here. Free time during the day is hard to come by and the evenings are taken up by receptions and dinners where we can network with other legislators, groups and organizations from across Montana all constituents.

Recently I attended the Montana Firefighters reception and was pleased to meet and speak with LVFD representative Steve Lauer. It was great to see a familiar and friendly face from home.

During the first few weeks, Legislators meet each other, talk about their ideas for serving the state of Montana, and begin to explore the process of doing our jobs here in the capitol. It’s a fascinating and fast paced time, as there are only so many hours in a day and a nearly infinite amount to do.

Surely for the lobbyists and staffers who work here full time, week one is much easier. But for those of us who must put aside our real lives for a four-month adventure to the state capitol, there’s a lot of catching up to do and not a lot of time to do it.

We literally hit the ground running from day one this session on the biggest issue we will face: our state’s budget. Montana is one of the lucky states that require a requirement in our Constitution to balance the budget.

That means we operate more like a family or a small business – we can’t spend more than we take in. We are constitutionally mandated to produce a balanced budget.

There are some great minds on our appropriations committees who are working hard to make sense of Governor Bullock’s budget. The shell game that the Governor is playing robs somewhere around $74 million from local governments and adds millions of dollars for new programs. There is a lot to try to understand and we are still trying to make sense of it.

As a freshman, I am mentored by many of the seasoned legislators and I find that the job is not as “uphill” as many folks have stated. The workload is heavy but if time is properly managed, it seems to work out. The preparation, the mentors and the unbelievable staff make learning this new job much more pleasant.

I just want to say, one more time, what an honor it is to represent you, the citizens of South Lincoln County. I’ll do my best to reflect your values in Helena, and I hope you’ll let me know if I’m not. You can contact me or any other legislator at any time by visiting leg.mt.gov or by calling (406) 444-4800. Thanks again, and I’ll try to write more next week.

Representative Steve Gunderson

Montana House District 01