By Karli Johnson and Nicole Rolf, Montana Farm Bureau Federation

The wrap up of the 69th legislative session has progressed at the Capitol with legislators working to move bills along in floor sessions. The week was quiet for MFBF lobbyists with only a few bills left to track. The highlight of the week was the committee dinners that MFBF organized and sponsored for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees.

During the end of the session, organizations that have spent abundant time lobbying in certain committees come together to host a “thank you” party for the legislator members. MFBF organized a joint Senate and House Agriculture Committee Dinner on Earth Day and a Senate and House Natural Resources Committee Dinner on Wednesday. These committee dinners are a great opportunity for legislators and lobbyists to come together and celebrate the end of the session and the hard work that has been accomplished.

At this point in the legislative session, most bills have completed their way through the legislative process. There are plenty of bills that have passed both the Senate and House and are on to enrolling before being put on the Governor’s desk. Any remaining bills are making a mad scramble to beat deadlines before the clock runs out. This year many of these last-minute bills are residential property tax relief legislation. Out of the 80 bills that MFBF has taken a position on, 10 of the bills that MFBF supports have been signed into law and 19 of the bills that we oppose have died. We look forward to providing an update with our final “success rate” when the legislature adjourns, and the clock runs out for amendatory vetoes, vetoes and overrides.

There is speculation as to when the Legislature will adjourn, or as we like to say, “sine die.”  When the sine die motion is made and passed, this ends the session and kills all the bills that are not on their way to the governor’s desk. We suspect that while they technically have until May 5 before their constitutionally allowed ninety days runs out, it will likely be the middle of next week when the legislators tap out. Adjourning early is something most legislators strive for, but they rarely finish much more than a few days early. By adjourning early, they “save money” for the state and “save days” in case they are called back for a special session.

Along with regular legislative work, MFBF had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion with Montana’s Representative Troy Downing. Nicole Rolf shared federal issues that MFBF has been keeping an eye on and encouraged Representative Downing to continue his good work at helping us accomplish some of priority issues such as passing a new five-year Farm Bill, making important tax provisions permanent, delisting grizzly bears, and regulatory reform. Many other representatives of Montana agriculture and natural resource organizations participated and shared many similar perspectives. In addition to visiting directly with Representative Downing, he had his entire staff present so that our groups were able to make connections with professional staff who work directly on relevant issues, making this an excellent opportunity for the agriculture and natural resource community of Montana.

Nicole Rolf is the Senior Director of Governmental Affairs and a rancher from Miles City, Montana.  Nicole works closely with our Congressional delegation on national issues affecting Montana agriculture. Additionally, this is her ninth Montana Legislative Session, lobbying in Helena on behalf of MFBF members. Nicole can be contacted at nicoler@mfbf.org.

Karli Johnson is the State Governmental Affairs Coordinator and a rancher from Choteau, MT. This is Karli’s first session lobbying on behalf of Montana Farm Bureau although she can be known as an old hand at testifying on Grizzly Bear bills before she came onto staff. Karli will focus on water and wildlife issues throughout the legislative session while also serving as the Northwest Regional Manager. Karli can be contacted at karlij@mfbf.org.