Fitzpatrick lauds productive 2015 Legislature

Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls

Here are my opinions about the 2015 legislative session.

High point:

The high point was passage of my four priority bills: HB 168 revises laws on exempt water wells, grandfathering in existing subdivisions and allowing people who purchased property in the subdivisions to use exempt wells. HB 430 establishes a commission to examine redistricting judicial district court boundaries to examine whether any improvements to district court workloads can be achieved. HB 454 changes how political party precinct people are selected, allowing precinct people to be either appointed or elected. SB 262 is the tribal water compact, which resolves all potential claims for water rights by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. By passing the compact, Cascade County water-rights holders will not be forced into litigation to defend their water rights.

Low point:

The biggest disappointment was the inability to put together a good infrastructure program. We are starting to develop a significant backlog of infrastructure projects in Montana and there are some areas of the state that need assistance, like eastern Montana. These projects are not going away and are just getting more expensive. This is the one area where legislators should be able to develop a reasonable compromise and unfortunately that did not happen this session.

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