Montana Jones

Good Government

Sometimes your state government does something right. This post is a kudo to those that helped pass House Bill 531.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2009/05/06/news/10cameras.txt

Gov. Brian Schweitzer Tuesday signed into a law a bill that bans the use of red-light cameras in Montana

Labels: bill, good, government, governor, House Bill 531, law, politics

Posted by: Montana Jones / 12:21 PM 1 comments

That legislature

Me:

So is your staff all lined up for the summer? Everyone ready to go?

BP:

Oh, let me tell you. I had everything ready and all lined up and then, well… You see, K_ works as a _ for the legislature and the damn legislature didn't do their jobs. They have to go to this special session now.

Me:

Yeah, I saw that.

BP:

I haven't heard from K_ yet, but his schedule may be shot. He is so angry. I am angry.

Me:

Everyone is.

BP:

All they had to do was work together and get the job done and they couldn't. And now they have to go do a special session because they were more interested in posing and posturing than in getting the work done. It makes me so mad. All of them; democrats and republicans. None of them could work together.

Me:

I have some opinions about that myself.

BP:

And it is going to cost the taxpayers $37,000 or something to do this special session and no one knows yet when it will be.

Me:

It's in the Montana constitution that the legislature is supposed to make a budget. It's the law. I think the governor should have 'em all arrested and make them finish the budget in jail.

BP:

I think the special session shouldn't happen. At least not on our dime. Make them do coffee roundtables until they have the budget done. Make them do it with Email. Make them finish the job at their own expense and don't let them get together again until it is done and ready to sign. They should do it all with Email, send as many Emails as it takes to get their work done. Just send that damn budget back and forth until they grow up enough to do their job.

Me:

That's a good idea.

BP:

But anyway, my staff is on hold until I hear from K_ about what his schedule will be. And I don't know when he is going to call. He was really looking forward to getting out here this summer and now who knows. And all because of that legislature, it affects us you know.

Labels: budget, business, conversation, governor, legislature, Montana, opinion, politics, special session, staff, work

Posted by: Montana Jones / 8:55 AM 0 comments

Montana Governor's Conference on Tourism & Recreation

A_:

What is that?

Me:

Oh, it's just another of those invitations to the Montana governor's conference on tourism.

A_:

Oh, that.

Me:

Yeah, I can't figure out why I should bother giving them the hundred something dollars they want just to be graced by the governor's presence.

A_:

I went to one of those one year. It's not worth it. You're right, they charge all this money just so you can go listen to them tell how wonderful the tourism board is.

Me:

I figured as much.

A_:

They should be paying us to go there. What they don't get, what they don't understand is that they wouldn't exist without us. We have been here for a hundred years. We have been bringing tourists to Montana longer than there has been a tourism board. The tourists don't come because of the governor, they come because of us.

Labels: conference, conversation, governor, money, Montana, tourism, tourist

Posted by: Montana Jones / 8:16 AM 2 comments