Gianforte says Montana in a ‘much stronger’ place as he enters second half of term

Montana is in a “much stronger” place than it was two years ago, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said in his biennial state of the state address, and his administration is leaning on a platform of tax cuts, “school choice,” bringing in business and making the state debt free as he heads into the second half of his term.

“While the American Dream might be fleeting in some states, it’s alive and well here in Montana because we embrace the freedoms that are foundational to who we are as Americans,” Gianforte said.

The first-term governor told the joint committee of the House and Senate, where Republicans have a supermajority this session, that he and lawmakers had succeeded in leading the “Montana comeback” over the two years since he took office, but that the journey was “far from over.”

Missoula Sen. Shannon O’Brien afterward gave the rebuttal for Democrats, calling the governor “out of touch” and saying his proposals fail to meet the needs of the moment when it comes to housing, child care, education and tax relief.

Affordable housing and child care have been simmering challenges in Montana for years, and the pandemic put even more pressure on families. More recently, inflation has pinched pocketbooks.

Gianforte’s speech focused primarily on priorities of his administration’s that he has discussed for months, and he called out by name specific bills he wants to see on his desk and the lawmakers who wrote them – including a personalized education bill from O’Brien herself.

Gianforte lauded Montana’s economic growth over the past two years and the millions in tax cuts that he signed in 2021 and is expecting on property taxes, income tax, and business equipment taxes from lawmakers in this year’s budget and bills.

Democrats have urged caution on some of his proposals given the federal stimulus dollars bolstering the budget and the threat of a recession, but Gianforte said the low unemployment rate of 2.8% in December and strong labor force growth showed GOP policies were making a difference.

He also touted his “red tape” initiative, and Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras received a standing ovation from Republicans when the governor praised her for her work leading an effort to simplify statute and permitting: “Our lieutenant governor doesn’t just cut ribbons; she cuts red tape.”

Gianforte said he still wants to make Montana debt-free this year, which he estimated would save residents $40 million, while also bringing in new businesses and jobs to the tune of 900 positions over the last two years.

“We’re going to keep making Montana a sanctuary for freedom and free enterprise,” said Gianforte, himself a multimillionaire-entrepreneur turned politician.

The governor said “bureaucrats” were keeping parents out of their children’s education and said he wanted Montana students’ and parents’ rights protected. That includes adding more online options in rural Montana, “transforming” K-12 education and expanding school choice, he said.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again,” Gianforte said. “… We need to bring more innovation to education. We need fresh, new thinking and bold leaders to deliver the best education possible for our kids.”

Part of that effort is also working to recruit and retain more teachers, especially in rural Montana, while also expanding apprenticeships and the role of community colleges, said Gianforte, who helped push a successful increase in new teacher salaries in the first session.

In Montana, the lack of housing workers can afford has been repeatedly described as a “crisis,” and the governor thanked the interim housing task force for its work in trying to find ways to make owning a home and renting more affordable. He praised a measure that aims to invest $200 million in expanding water and sewer infrastructure in order to build more homes.

Two topics received whoops and hollers from fellow Republicans while Democrats stayed silent: When Gianforte talked about abortion without saying the word and when he blamed the nationwide fentanyl crisis on President Joe Biden and Congress.

“Last session, we passed commonsense pro-life bills, some of which are now tied up in the courts, but our commitment to doing what’s right for unborn babies will never waver,” the governor told the chamber.

The legislature is advancing at least one significant measure this year, and under the Gianforte administration, the state health department has proposed rules to restrict Medicaid abortions.

He transitioned into talking about his proposal for a child tax credit for Montana children under age 6 and a tax credit for adopting a child.

Gianforte said he’d heard from “almost every community” in Montana that violent crime and drug addiction were threatening their way of life. He blamed the increase in fentanyl coming from China and Mexico on “our nation’s insecure and porous southern border.”

“Tonight, I have a message for President Biden and members of Congress: secure our southern border now,” he said, drawing perhaps the largest applause of the night from fellow Republicans. “… The safety of our communities, our families and our people depends on it.”

He talked about his effort to hire a few more law enforcement officers, his Angel Initiative and HEART Fund, and the effort to fund an overhaul of the state hospital in Warm Springs.

“The time for kicking the can down the road is over,” Gianforte said of the hospital renovation.

He wove the idea of the “American Dream” throughout the speech, closing with remarks about how Montanans simply want to work hard to realize it by making a living wage, owning a home and raising a family.

“We embrace the fundamental idea that the American Dream is a sacred one, and together, we’ll always defend it,” he said.

Democrats say Republicans pushing a ‘divisive agenda that divides Montanans’

O’Brien gave the rebuttal to the governor’s speech in the Senate chambers, with most of her caucus and a few Republicans there to watch.

Democrats have lost political power in Montana over the last couple of election cycles, but O’Brien was still pointed in her criticisms.

She said Gianforte had failed to give a real solution to the housing crisis, that the red tape relief initiative “does nothing,” that his child care proposals were lacking, and that he was far outside the realm of what Montanans want and need when it comes to health care, nursing homes and public education.

“Much of this first month, the Republican majority has been spending precious time not on economic issues that should unite us but on a divisive agenda that divides Montanans, and it breaks my heart,” she said.

O’Brien said it was regular Montanans – not those with their fifth or sixth house here – who need help with housing, finding jobs that pay a living wage in an increasingly expensive state, and putting the $2+ billion surplus to work for affordable housing.

She said the exorbitant costs of child care were not being addressed by the governor’s child tax credit proposal and that her caucus wanted to put caps on co-pays and provide scholarships to help relieve the burden. And she sharply criticized the Republicans’ tax cuts, which Democrats say overwhelmingly help the rich compared to the poor.

The Missoula Democrat also called the closure of 11 nursing homes over the last year an economic and moral crisis. And O’Brien said the low wages Montana teachers are paid was deepening the teacher shortage.

She praised the Indigenous lawmakers in the caucus and received applause after acknowledging they “lived on this land first” – a contrast to Gianforte, who said ranchers were the “first stewards” of the lands they ranch.

In closing, O’Brien said Democrats’ focus this session is about “getting good things done for Montanans,” and said that should be Republicans’ focus as well.

“We must work together to ensure our values of freedom, fairness and responsible government are kept,” she said. “I invite you to join us, watch us and hold us accountable.”