Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison
On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the recent gubernatorial and U.S. House debates, two new ads in the U.S. Senate race that target the candidates’ positions on the death tax, and whether voters are suffering “ad fatigue”…
Montana’s candidates for governor each held a forum with professionals in the state’s healthcare industry this week.
Democrat Steve Bullock and Republican Rick Hill each needed to respond to pretty specific questions from the Montana Healthcare Forum.
The Montana Healthcare Forum has been going on for years. Groups like the AARP and the Montana Chamber of Commerce and insurance companies like Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Montana come together with medical professionals and state lawmakers to talk about problems in state healthcare and potential solutions.
Bullock and Hill each spent an hour separately fielding questions on what they would do to improve healthcare from the Governor’s seat.
The questions ranged from Medicaid expansion to budgeting to community based healthcare. Bullock was more receptive of changes coming under the federal health care law.Hill would rather see Republicans in Washington D.C. overturn it. But, Hill says he would work within the law if that does not happen.
The candidates differed in how they want to address rising healthcare costs. Bullock says it’s through more effective preventive care—getting people to see a primary care physician more often.
“Most of the costs end up dealing with chronic issues and end of life issues,” Bullock said. “Let’s address is through prevention, through screening and through regular screening beforehand so it never gets to be chronic.”
A different position from former Congressman Hill. He says it’s more important to treat chronic conditions before they reach the acute stage.
“Well, preventive care sort of has a mixed bag in terms of what it’s actually accomplished and that’s why I think most people today are focusing rather on chronic disease management and chronic condition management as opposed to preventative medicine,” Hill said.
As for what each man would do first to address health concerns once in office, Bullock says it’s bringing the stakeholders from the Healthcare Forum together again to plot the best course.
Hill says the Department of Health and Human Services would be the first place he would look to cut costs.
Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison
On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison talk about the latest poll results, the first debate in the governor’s race, a court ruling that could affect the judicial races, and new ads by outside PAC’s….
On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about some surprising new poll results, a new plan to fund education, another challenge to Montana’s campaign spending limits, and more new ads in the Senate race….
Rick Hill (Center) speaks with supporters at One Way Marine in Helena Monday
Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Rick Hill has released the first of his policy positions for wildlife in the state. It calls for a new direction and new leadership at the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
“Many of you know that I wasn’t born and raised in Montana. I tell people I got here as soon as I could,” former Congressman Hill said at One Way Marine, a Helena business selling ATVs and boating supplies, on Monday.
“But one of the reasons I came to Montana was because of the outdoors,” Hill said. “It was hunting and fishing and the opportunities for hunting and fishing and camping.”
He was holding a press conference to announce his collection of wildlife policy proposals entitled, “Protecting Montana’s Outdoor Sporting Heritage”
It all starts with displeasure at the state agency that manages wildlife.
“In every corner of the state of Montana I hear one thing, and that’s frustration and anger with Fish, Wildlife and Parks,” Hill said.
Hill says FWP has lost the trust of the people of Montana and that relationships have broken down. More than anything else, Hill points to the state’s management of predators, the gray wolf especially.
FWP recently approved new rules for this year’s wolf season—which remove the statewide hunting limit on wolves and allow trapping for the first time.
Hill believes the hunting rules need to be liberalized even more, allowing individuals to hunt multiple wolves and lowering license fees.
He thinks many decisions regarding wolves have been made for political reasons and not based on sound science. He believes the number of wolves is much higher than the minimum 650 wolves estimated by FWP.
“And that the number is beyond the tipping point in some instances and that is going to dramatically impact the remaining number of wildlife that we have and so we believe that they’re not aggressive enough,” Hill said.
Hill also says he wants the agency to refocus on working for its customers—meaning hunters and fisherman. Hunting and fishing license fees and taxes on equipment provide most of the agency’s budget.
Hill’s proposal also suspends efforts to establish wild, free-roaming bison in the state. Hill says he would change the leadership at FWP, including new appointments on the FWP citizen commission—which sets the agency’s policies.
FWP Director, Joe Maurier was not available for comment today.
Hill is running against Democrat Attorney General Steve Bullock this November. Bullock campaign Spokesman Kevin O’Brien says Bullock is the only candidate who has fought in court for the rights of Montana sportsmen and personally explained to the Secretary of the Interior the importance of removing the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List.
“Seems that there are only two ways to become a wildlife biologist in Montana.” O’Brien said, “The first is you go to school and get a degree and the second is you get elected to public office. We know which direction Congressman Hill is taking. More than anything, especially with wolves, we need to get the politicians and their grandstanding out of the way and let the scientists do their jobs.”
Obrien says the Bullock campaign will focus on public access, public wildlife and professional management at FWP.
The numbers are in for how the state’s top pension systems performed over the last year in the stock market.
The investments made money, but not very much.
These pensions have been in debt for about a decade and are an increasing budget concern for the state. The ailing pension system is shaping up to be a top priority for the 2013 Legislature. State lawmakers are now weighing a proposal from Governor Brian Schweitzer to fix the pensions.
The gubernatorial candidates seeking to replace him disagree on what they want to see..
It’s sort of hard to paint a clear picture of how big of a deal state pension problems are because it all unfolds over a long time.
Let’s put it this way—over the next 30 years the state’s two biggest public employee pension systems, or retirement plans, will be $3 billion in debt if the current system does not change.
To put that in perspective, the state’s annual budget is about $2 billion.
And how do these pensions make money? Well, the employees and employers put in money, and it’s diversified by the State Board of Investments. The board recently received the figures for how much the pensions earned in the stock market over this last year. Board Director David Ewer says it was about 2.4 percent.
“It’s a very challenging environment for investors globally,” Ewer said.
2.4 percent is not very good. Ewer says the systems have earned an average of just under 6 percent over the last decade. In order for the stock market to pay back the debt on these retirement plans—Ewer predicts they would have to earn an average of about 9 percent over the next 30 years.
It’s hard to say for sure, let’s say between 8 and 11 percent. Either way, that’s probably not going to happen.
“I think I can fairly say that I think it’s unlikely that investment returns on their own will sufficiently close the gap that needs to be closed if you’re going to have for the long term a truly viable pension system,” he said.
Several bills to address the pension system are in the drafting stage right now. The one generating the most interest comes from Governor Brian Schweitzer’s budget office. It calls for increasing the amount paid into the plans from the employers and the employees.
And then it includes a new cash infusion from the money earned on state trust lands. Schweitzer calls this an incremental approach that would fix the pensions over the long term, but says state lawmakers need to get on it.
“We need to move today,” Schweitzer said. “We cannot allow the legislature to kick it down the road. If they do that then it becomes a deep, dark hole for the people of Montana.”
“We agree with a great deal of what the Governor’s proposing here,” said Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill, one of two men looking to replace Schweitzer in this November’s election.
He agrees with Schweitzer this is an issue of utmost importance, Hill actually thinks the problem is worse than what’s been presented. He agrees fixing the pensions needs to be a shared responsibility. But Hill does not want to use state trust land money for the pensions. He says those funds should not go to one small group of beneficiaries, the state employees.
“We think all taxpayers ought to be beneficiaries of the revenues that come off of state lands,” Hill said, “and the best way to do that is to use those funds to help us change how we fund education in a way that allows us to reduce property taxes.”
Hill also touts moving new employees away from the current pension system, into 401Ks —leading to less risk for the state but more risk for the employees
“We believe we should seriously look at moving to a defined contribution plan for new hirees so that we’re not perpetuating this problem into eternity,” Hill said.
Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Steve Bullock does not speak about pensions with the same urgency as his predecessor or his opponent.
“We’re in a better position than a lot of other states,” Bullock said. “So the answer isn’t to panic, but it’s to methodically work on it and make sure it’s actuarially funded.”
Although, Bullock does say the next legislature should address the issue. As for the state trust land cash infusion, he says there will need to be some kind of new money propping up the pensions.
“Be it from some of the resource development or other, you know over time we need to chip away at it and that could be a good area to do it,” Bullock said.
But, Bullock does not agree with moving all new hires to 401Ks. He thinks it is good enough that it is now an option for new employees.
“Having that as an option makes a lot of sense. Switching out to everybody I don’t think does,” Bullock said.
While one of these men will be holding the veto pen next legislative session, their influence will first require the state legislature pass a pension bill.
In this edition of Campaign Beat, our weekly political analysis program, Lee Newspapers reporter Chuck Johnson and MTPR’s Edward O’Brien discuss, well, the LACK of relevant political news stories from the past week. That said, a few new political advertisements were released…
Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison
In this edition of “Campaign Beat,” our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the emotional new ads in the U.S. Senate race over support for breast cancer funding, the tax plans of the two candidates for governor, and the arrest of a mule-riding former legislator…
Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison
On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the latest campaign finance reports in the governor’s race, I-166 making the ballot, the House vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, fundraising in the U.S. Senate race, and presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s brief stop in the Bitterroot…
Chuck Johnson, Sally Mauk, Mike Dennison
On this edition of “Campaign Beat”, our weekly political analysis program, News Director Sally Mauk talks with Lee newspaper reporters Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison about the first debate in the U.S. Senate race, a “cancelled” debate, two new TV ads, a gubernatorial campaign promise, and two important U.S. Supreme court decisions that could impact Montana races…
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