House goes round and round on infrastructure

Friday at the Montana Legislature, the House narrowly passed a bill on second reading that would use loans and cash to pay for needed state infrastructure projects like roads and water systems. But lawmakers put off the final vote until Saturday, delaying the session's end. Legislators agree that funding infrastructure is needed before they adjourn, but they don't agree on how to do it.

If this bill loses even one vote in the House, it will fail. Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Hunter asked they accept the negotiation.

"Everybody sacrificed some, everybody got some. I don't think it's a good idea now to toss all that work out the window."

Many like Republican Representative Carl Glimm don't like this bill because its chosen projects and it uses bonding instead of cash.

"Even at this rate, we still have $300 million ending fund balance. We aren't tapping that yet."

If it fails, either a new bill or amendments must be made, which could take time.