HB 198 Montana

Sunshine Week...
Montana's HB 198 in the spotlight

By Leesa Zalesky

The week of March 13 - 19 is Sunshine Week, when we celebrate open government records and our right to them. With that thought in mind, here's some relevant data about Montana's HB 198, the eminent domain bill that has sparked great controversy in Big Sky Country.

The measure passed the Montana House and is now before the Montana Senate; in fact, it appeared before the Senate Energy & Telecommunications Committee on March 3.  
The bill is worrisome for many because it appears to throw open the door for utility companies and private corporations, foreign or domestic, to exercise eminent domain over private Montana property for private gain. As such, it has provoked a groundswell of opposition in Montana, as has been evidenced by significant Letters to the Editor as well as Down Dirt Road columns in this publication. 

As many of you know, Northwestern Energy has a stake in the legislation because of its proposed Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI) project. The MSTI plan calls for a 500-kilovolt, 1,500-megawatt transmission line to be constructed from the Townsend Substation, which will be built about five miles south of Townsend, Montana, through southeastern Idaho to Idaho Power Company's existing Midpoint Substation, ten miles north of Jerome, Idaho. The proposed route travels across five counties of Montana as it winds towards Idaho, on a considerable amount of private, deeded, farming and ranching land where willing sellers are few and far between.  

All in the family?
By now, you likely know that Darryl James, the chief lobbyist in Montana for MATL (Montana-Alberta Tie Line, a 214-mile, 230-kilovolt transmission line that will run between Lethbridge, Alberta, and Great Falls, Montana) is the son-in-law of Jim Peterson, president of the Montana Senate.

Perhaps you also know that John Fitzpatrick, Northwestern Energy's long-time Helena lobbyist, is the father of Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, a Republican elected to the Montana House. According to the website followthemoney.org, John Fitzpatrick donated $320 to his son's 2010 campaign listing himself as an employee of Northwestern Energy.   

Lunch and other things...
A look into Northwestern Energy's lobbyist report for the 2011-2010 legislative session shows Fitzpatrick and his lobbying staff have been busy. For the report dated February 15, Northwestern spent nearly $15,000 for lobbying activities, and $2,425.73 of that amount was spent on entertainment, including food and refreshments. 
Here's a rundown of who went to lunch or out for dinner or to a special event and where they went with the Northwestern Energy lobbyists:

Rep. Tim Furey, Civic Center
Rep. Cynthia Hiner, Macaroni Grill & Civic Center
Rep. Harry Klock, Jorgenson's
Rep. Sue Malek, Civic Center
Rep. Edith McClafferty, Jorgenson's
Rep. Pat Noonan, Jorgenson's
Rep. Jon Sesson, Jorgenson's
Rep. Carolyn Squires, Macaroni Grill
Rep. Kathy Swanson, Jorgenson's
Rep. Max Yates, Jorgenson's

Sen. Steve Gallus, Jorgenson's
Sen. Gene Vuckovich, Jorgenson's

Native American Caucus, Silver Star Steakhouse to the tune of $336.14
(Note: The Native American Caucus in the Montana Legislature, according to the National Caucus of Native American Legislators' website, is comprised of Montana Senators Shannon Augare, Sharon Stewart-Peregoy, and Jonathan Windy Boy and MT Representatives Frank Smith, Tony Belcourt, and Carolyn Pease-Lopez.)

Also interesting...
The primary sponsor of HB 198 is Rep. Ken Peterson. Readers might or might not remember that Peterson represented Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar when Molnar faced ethics charges of allegedly improper solicitation and illegal receipt of money from PPL Montana and Northwestern Energy to fund an energy conservation event in 2007. Other charges included using state government equipment for personal and political reasons. 
Montana's Political Practices Commissioner ruled last fall in a 32-page decision that Molnar had violated state ethics laws and fined him a record $5,750 and another $15,000 in associated costs. According to public documents filed in the case, Northwestern Energy eventually asked that Molnar return the $2,000 it gave to him. The case, says Molnar, will be appealed.  

Spreading a little sunshine...
Let's take a look at what campaign finance filings show us about Northwestern Energy's political contributions in Montana and compare that to how policy-makers voted. The final vote tally in the Montana House was 69:30 on HB 198. If their name isn't on the following lists, then they were among the group that voted NO.

A pat on the back...
For the record, there were a few House members who voted AGAINST HB 198 and who received campaign donations from Northwestern Energy in 2008 or 2010: Krayton Kerns, Edith McClafferty, Mike Miller, Pat Noonan, Carolyn Pease-Lopez, Jon Sesso, Bob Wagner, and Jeffery Welborn.

Who did what...
Those who voted YES on the bill are listed below in alphabetical order BY CATEGORY: 
- If they received no campaign donation at all from Northwestern Energy, there's nothing by their name.
- If they received a donation from Northwestern Energy in 2008 only, there's an "08" by their name.
- If they received a donation from Northwestern Energy in 2010 only, there's a "10" by their name.
- If they received a campaign donation from Northwestern Energy both in 2008 and 2010, there's a "$$$" by their name. 


Bangerter, Liz
Belcourt, Tony
Beck, Bill
Berry, Tom
Blyton, Joanne
Boland, Cydnie
Brodehl, Randy
Burnett, Tom
Connell, Pat
Cuffe, Mike
Esp, John
Evans, Lila
Fitzpatrick, Steve
Gibson, Steve
Greef, Edward
Hands, Betsy
Harris, Bill
Hollenbaugh, Galen
Hoven, Brian
Howard, David
Hunter, Chuck
Kary, Douglas
Klock, Harry
Knox, James
Knudsen, Austin
Lavin, Steve
Loney, Cleve
McNally, Mary
McNiven, Jonathan
Mehlhoff, Robert
Menahan, Mike
O'Hara, Jesse
Osmundson, Ryan
Peterson, Ken
Price, Jean
Read, Joe
Salomon, Daniel
Schmidt, Trudi
Skattum, Dan
Small, Sterling
Stahl, Wayne
Swanson, Kathy
Taylor, Janna
Warburton, Wendy
Wilmer, Franke


Hendrick, Gordon (08)
Hollandsworth, Roy (08)
Reichner, Scott (08)
Roberts, Don (08)


Ankeny, Duane (10)
Arntzen, Elsie (10)
Bennett, Gerald (10)
Ehli, Ron (10)
Kennedy, Dan (10)
Mcchesney, Bill (10)
McGillvray, Tom (10)
Phillips, Mike (10)
Regier, Keith (10)
Smith, Cary (10)
Squires, Carolyn (10)
Vance, Gordon (10)
Washburn, Ted (10)


Driscoll, Robyn $$$
Hiner, Cynthia $$$
Ingraham, Pat $$$
Maclaren, Gary $$$
McNutt, Walter $$$
Milburn, Mike (Speaker of the House) $$$
Smith, Frank $$$