The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1947-01-16
Lawmakers Off
To Good Stort

when they dug themselves out from
under so notices of bills and scat
tered for the weekend.
During the first week of the
states Both legislative assembly, the
h sOlons had
Passed two bills;
2-Referred four to committee;
3.-Received notice of so
measures.
Friday Gov. Sam c. Ford signed
into the law the first two bills
passed by the Both legislature. They
were the $3.50 feed bill" which
pays legislators and official at
taches mileage, per diem and in
cidental expenses, and a companion
measure which ups by ST per day
the pay of legislative employees be-
low the grade of attache.
At the close of the legislative
week, the house appropriations com
mittee (headed by c. ]. Williams,
r., Billings) had three measures
and the judiciary committee (E. A.
Blenkner, r., Columbus, chairman
had one.
The appropriations committee had
its own bill, which allocates $4,-
262, 1861 for postwar construction at
stale institutions, and the measure
(by Reps. Fred H. Padbury, r.,
Helena, and G.. w. O'Connor, r.,
FrOmberg) regunding to World War
Two veterans state income taxes
paid on military compensation.
A third bill was referred to the
appropriations committee Friday.
Ina hrF =
J. Armstrong. r., Kalispell, and Tom
Stout, D., Lewistown, it calls for
a $350,000 supplemental bond issue
for erection of a state office build
ing on the capitol grounds.
Most controversial of the so bills
noticed in the legislature this past
week was one by Rep. John Oliver.
r., Ekalaka, who would increase the
pay of legislators. Under divers
bill, the pay of the house and SEN
ate presiding officers would be hiked
from the present $l2 per day to
SIT per day, and the paychecks of
individual members would read SIS
per day instead of the present $40.
However, the measure would not
affect salaries paid to the 30th legis-
1ative assembly, since legislators are
prohibited from raising their own
salaries.
Although the legislative pay
raise proposal had been backed
from the opening gun by the legis-
lature montana Secretary of State
Sam Mitchell opened proceedings IN
the house with a call for higher
wages for legislators and state of
ficers) there was opposition de-
Veloping, particularly among the
economy minded members
Another bill noticed was pre-
pared by Reps. r. c. Lowe, r.,
Glendive; E. H. Hall, D., Gardiner;
C. J. Baldwin, R.. Billings, and
Armstrong. That measure would
raise hunting and fishing license
fees to provide funds for expanding
the states wildlife program as called
for IN the biennial report of the
State Fish and Game Commission
which was issued last week
Lowe said the amount of the
proposed raise was still undeter-
mined
Fridays short session brought
flood of 48 notices to the legis-
lators, who were anxious to take
the weekend off.
The 20 notices filed in the senate
(by Sens Donovan Worden, R.,
Missoula, and L. l. Wallace, R..
Poison and % of the house notices
(by Blenkner) were part of the
So-called "Choate series The meas
ures. recommended by l. w. Choate,
former Montana Code Commissioner
(and now Associate Justice of the
State Supreme Court are aimed at
clearing the dead timber" from
Montana's statutes by eliminating
obsolete laws and making others
conform
But, busy or not. the solons did
little more than scratch the sur
face of the problems confronting
them during the first week of the
session.
They had yet to crack such legis-
l2tive nuts as the financial ques-
ton
Budget requests for the 1947-49
biennium exceed the estimated gen
eral fund revenue by some S.
100000. And unless, the legis-
lators are willing to pare budget
requests, they must turn to adj
,ditiOnal sources of revenue.
1t was the suggested income
source that bothered Montana's
lawmakers as they ended their fifth
legislative day Friday. Mentioned
thus far as revenue measures were
a state sales tax and the legali-
cation of gambling.
AS yet, no one has come forward
with a state sales tax proposal, but
there was talk of a gambling bill
which followed the form of the
measure killed by the house dur
ing the 10Th assembly. That bill
would have raised an estimated ST.
100000 a year by imposing stiff
fees on legaIized gambling.
There also are those who would |