NEWS

Young lawmakers bring their priorities to the session

Kristen Inbody
kinbody@greatfallstribune.com
One of the youngest legislators, Rep. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, has faced off against the Department of Justice about digital privacy.

HELENA – This week Rep. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, took debate at the Montana Legislature in a new direction, onto the video-sharing website YouTube.

His 11-minute video, "State Rep. Daniel Zolnikov Takes on the Montana Department of Justice," aimed to rally sufficient force to blast his House Bill 444 out of committee and onto the Senate floor. The bill would require law enforcement to have search warrants to retrieve data.

Zolnikov, 28, is among the young legislators finding their voice in the Legislature. They're leading the way on digital privacy bills.

He said he's found that his age is an asset in the House but a detriment in the Senate. Sometimes he's treated like a teenager. He's closer in age to high schoolers than he is to most senators.

The House has three members younger than 25 and nine 25-34. That's almost 9 percent of a body that's more than 22 percent 65 and older. The Senate has only one member younger than 35, Sen. Jedediah Hinkle, R-Philipsburg. He's 34, and was among the 15 votes of 50 in the Senate to blast Zolnikov's bill.

"The House has a different vibe," Zolnikov said. "We're more representative of the people, while the Senate wants a prestigious feel and there's this attitude that young people have less life experience and why are our opinions worth considering?"

The digital perspective

Zolnikov struggles to impart his sense of urgency to fellow lawmakers.

"I have to grope a bit. Some of these guys are still looking in encyclopedias," he said. "Everybody thinks they have time so they're waiting. People don't understand, in two years I won't be bringing up the same issues. We'll be so far behind. In two years, the issues will be different."

Zolnikov saw HB 444 as an opportunity to provide a model for the government before re-authorization of the Patriot Act. Another of Zolnikov's bills, House Bill 344, would have prohibited use of license plate scanners, which track movement. It passed the House 56-44 but died with a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary committee.

Last week, Gov. Steve Bullock signed Zolnikov's House Bill 207, which extends to journalists' digital communications the same protections as paper material.

Across the aisle, Rep. Bryce Bennett, 30, also has pushed bills related to digital privacy. His House Bill 343 forbidding employers from demanding personal online account passwords sailed through both houses. The Missoula Democrat also proposed an interim study on data as a property right, a measure that passed the House 90-10 on Thursday.

The study will consider "who has the right to earn an income from that date" and "create comprehensive protections of our data," he said. The aim is to give individuals more control of data collected about them.

"True privacy comes from ownership" of the data, he said.

Rep. Forrest Mandeville, 30, said older legislators don't look down on him and his fellow youngsters. The Columbus Republican introduced a handful of bills, and his House Bill 183 became law this month. It requires that parks surrounded by land annexed by cities must be annexed, too.

Mandeville's priority for the session was "to learn as much as I can." He said he, and other young lawmakers, have a different perspective, a diversity respected in the House.

"Younger legislators have grown up in a technological age and are used to dealing with that type of issue," he said. "From time to time, people say they don't text or Facebook and what would they ever get out of it?"

Several of the young legislators spoke in support of Senate Bill 209, sponsored by Sen. Matt Rosendale, R-Glendive, when it came to the House. The bill, sent to the governor's desk this week, establishes that car owners own the data from their automotive black boxes.

"Everyone is for privacy rights until we find one good reason to collect data," Zolnikov told the House. The technology "takes away our rights to say yes or no."

Position of power

Sarah Laszloffy, R-Billings, is the youngest legislator and chairwoman of the House Education Committee. She was a controversial choice, the product of home and private schooling and with strong ties to the Montana Family Foundation.

The 23-year-old said she didn't anticipate being a chairwoman and had to think over the offer.

"The position is about leadership, time management and working with a variety of views, even within each party," she said. "I decided what was really important was to conduct fair hearings. There were a lot of priorities for both caucuses, and we had great hearings and discussions."

Sarah Laszloffy, R-Billings, is the youngest legislator and chairwoman of the House Education Committee.

When she took over the position, Laszloffy heard from people upset the role went to someone so young.

"I may have been the youngest chair in the history of Montana. But you can have tons of experience and still be a bad chair," she said. "I've been challenged on every level. It's made me motivated."

She said she's been challenge "on every level" and spurred herself to become one of the few people in the state — she estimates a half dozen — who really understand school funding.

"There's not a ton of interest in the education process. They let it do its thing," she said. "I'd love to inspire legislators to take up education as an area of expertise."

Young legislators have the benefit of not being far removed from their own school days and the perspective of those who have the longest to live with the consequences of legislation passed. Laszloffy said she hopes to inspire more young people to participate.

"It's doable, and you have interesting experience to bring," she said.

Rep. Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls, is one of the youngest legislators. Mental health bills have been his priority.

Rep. Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls, said one of the clearest age divides came with a measure to bring back printed state directories. It died.

"Recognition of good and bad ideas doesn't have anything to do with your age," he said.

Schreiner said electing young legislators brings a variety of perspectives and helps line up future leadership.

"You need a secretary of state, down the road," he said. "There's a good sense here of 'building your bench.'"

He focused on mental health bills this session to tackle need he saw in the community. The Great Falls Democrat said he spends time with "old-school legislators" in his social time to further his education.

"Everybody's life situation plays into their perspective," he said. "At 32, my life experience isn't the same, but they're always willing to help. Age affects priorities, but I don't think anyone views me differently."

He's juggling the session with being father to an 18-month-old baby (and one more on the way). He missed every doctor's appointment until a morning ultrasound on Friday, when he heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Those kinds of stage-of-life pressures help keep young people out of politics.

Some of the ways of a deliberative body serve as a barrier to youth involvement. So much sitting. So many meetings. So complex.

Zolnikov is longer on energy than patience. He likes to have a project or testimony on which to focus to see him through the days.

"I admit it can be dull at times, especially the political theater. As you get older, you can sit longer and be calmer," he said. "Trying to get a message across is more my focus."

Ages of Montana lawmakers

The "baffle them with b.s. spirit is alive and well at the session," Zolnikov said.

"This is the place people come because it's where the power is in the state. This attracts a lot of not good people to this building. You don't have to be part of that lie. This place has vile individuals."

House leadership "put a lot of trust in us younger people," Zonikov said. "It's touching when you talk to someone who has been around and they respect everything you're saying. That means a lot. These are people who are business owners, have raised children, are retired and successful. It's awesome to be acknowledged as an equal instead of thrown into a corner."

Zonikov said he aims for an untraditional, fun approach to politics and delivering his message.

"I try to make it fun," he said. "Republicans aren't the best at making things fun."

Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer, R-Superior, works on the House floor.

When people see Zolnikov outside the Legislature, young and in sneakers, they tend to guess he must be a Democrat. The Republican position on social issues can be a barrier for some people, he said. but "since the financial crisis, money has been more of a concern so fiscal policy appeals more than it did."

He's worried about the Legislature committing to long-term spending commitments when natural resources fluctuate in their contributions to the state coffers. He's not happy about federal debt.

"This country doesn't exist without 50 states, so if the states are fiscally responsible, the federal government has to be more fiscally responsible," he said.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody.