MCV Legislative Hotlist: January 12, 2009

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Dear Conservation Voter,

The Montana State Legislature is finally underway.  This session we'll keep you up-to-date each week on the environmental and conservation related bills through this Legislative Digest. Click to view our House and Senate Hotlists.  The Hotlists detail conservation and environmental bills, as determined by our policy partners from other conservation groups, up for hearing each week. 

What's happening in Helena?  Will it be partisan politics or will folks rise above the fray? Leadership promised to "rise above politics," work together and do the state's business without partisan bickering.  We're hopeful our common sense conservation proposals don't get caught in the crossfire of partisan politics this year, and it sounds like legislative leadership agrees. 

Conservationists met with Governor Schweitzer last week to share our top conservation priorities, and learn more about the priorities of the administration, which seem to include energy efficiency and conservation measures.  We left the meeting feeling we were on the same page as the Governor and his staff on our legislative priorities.  He made a few interesting observations about corporate lobbyists, referring to them as "vultures," and encouraged us to keep fighting for the public interest. 

You can make a difference.  Take action to support stream access. This week, we're keeping a careful eye on the first hearing of several bills, including a great proposal that would lead to another victory for stream access in Montana.  House Bill 190, sponsored by Representative Kendall Van Dyk (D-Billings), a bill to clarify the obligations of counties, landowners, and recreationists for accommodating access at public rights of way on county bridges, is in its first hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, January 13th, in the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Committee.

Please take a moment to call the legislators on the House FWP committee today at 406-444-4800.  Ask them to support House Bill 190.

With all of this good news, what's coming up next?  So far this week we've dodged any attacks on current environmental protections set forth in law.  But stay tuned...legislators will try to prevent citizen review of environmental permitting, block access to the courts, and "streamline" the industrial development of our plains and riverbanks. 

Learn more about the conservation community's legislative priorities at www.mtvoters.org.

Thanks for reading,

Sarah Cobler, Program Director