REILLY NEILL

Serving in A Citizen Legislature

 

Like many small-population states, Montana has a citizen legislature. Every two years people from all aspects of life leave their day jobs and meet in the capitol city of Helena to work for four months on the laws and budget of the state. 100 members of the State House of Representatives represent a total population of roughly one million people.

 

House members serve for two years but only one 90-day legislative session. The city limits of the district I represented, Livingston, Montana, roughly comprise House District 60 (formerly District 62 before redistricting in 2013), a district held fairly evenly by either a Democrat or a Republican, depending on the election year.

 

Livingston, Montana is an artsy burg of about 7,000 people who vote mostly down the middle as far as city, state or national politics. The Yellowstone River and the Absaroka Mountains form the backdrop for this iconic old-west railroad town.

 

Just 45 minutes north of Yellowstone National Park, Livingston and Park County were originally home to the Crow Indians. Not far from town is the site of the first Crow Indian Agency, Fort Parker. The fort burned over a century ago and the American Indians have long since been relocated to a reservation in the eastern part of the state. The physical legacy of Indigenous peoples in Park County is nearly extinct except for a few historic markers and the existence of one of the last American bison herds in Yellowstone Park. These days in Park County, wealthy liberals live alongside lifelong conservative ranchers, Yellowstone Park scientists, retired railroad union workers, and world-famous sportsmen.

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The 2012 House District race in Park County against Tea Party candidate and Republican incumbent Dan Skattum was targeted by dark money groups, fully-funded opposition campaign "helpers" who sent out hate mail against their opponents. Donations to these dark money groups are not required to be recorded in any campaign finance reports and many of these organizations have corporate backing. 

 

One of these groups, the American Tradition Partnership, launched an attack on my 2012 campaign right as my race was winding down, using union logos on attack pieces against me. As I watched, the Teamsters contacted the local daily press to express outrage at their logos being used without permission. Behind the scenes I found out who was behind the smear campaign in the days before the election and confronted the president of the ATP organization for breaking the law and coordinating with my opponent and candidates in races across the state. The individual denied having done anything illegal. I promised to find a news outlet after the election to expose him. He responded to me with an email indicating he knew who I was and where my child went to day care. He assured me that he was not scared of me. This was my first foray into the dark world of politics.

 

When in the Montana State House chamber, members observe a reverence for the deliberate atmosphere of lawmaking. Regardless of the passions behind any argument, decorum in the sessions usually remains civilized and respectful. And most representatives, Democrats and Republicans, know how they will be voting on any issue well before they walk in the door for the daily discussion and voting session. Although citizens are constantly bombarding representatives with emails, phone calls and written messages, the bulk of the votes on the floor seem to be guided by either individual perspectives or by lobbying efforts from a variety of special-interest organizations and corporations.

 

I only witnessed a collective shift in a House floor vote a few times during the session that seemed to occur solely because of what was said on the floor on any particular day. Still, House members did whatever it took to grandstand and show off for votes and attention. Some members of the House told absolute mistruths to encourage colleagues to vote for their perspective and change the code of law in the state. As shocking as this was to me, I came to understand such insincere pontification to be par for the course in Montana politics.

 

Although Montana voters favored the House in 2013 with a Republican majority and Democratic minority in a 61/39 split, a cabal of roughly 18 Republicans actually ended up running the entire show. If a Republican legislator decided to stand against the group on a targeted issue, or even in the middle, they would subtly be threatened with losing their next election.

 

Making friends on both sides of the aisle was unavoidable for me with 99 colleagues. Most representatives heard the stories. If someone was not going along with the Republican cabal's party line, the threatened legislator would be encouraged to change his or her perspective or suffer the consequences. During session the targeted lawmaker's legislation would die. Even worse was the threat of what could happen after session. Some dark money organization like the American Tradition Partnership would be sure to target the legislator's next primary race and a Tea Party candidate could easily be selected and funded to run against the incumbent. A few Republicans were brave and stood up to the Tea Party cabal in the House but even those few soon got back in line. Craziness prevailed, lies upon lies were told and the powerful influence of certain industries and philosophies made themselves known over the months that passed.​ 

 

Compromise in the legislative process was rare, thanks to the overwhelming control of the Republican majority in both the House and Senate. Still, stories emerged on the House floor: stories of the state, its people, and the challenges that society faces in trying to live peacefully together.

 

As an editor and publisher, I wish I could have assigned the task of recounting the session to a hungry journalist and then polished and printed the account. Instead, I took on this assignment personally. As time before the next election cycle was short, just a year where I had the demands of interim legislative work along with further professional work and attention to my family, this summation of the session is certainly anything but a complete account. I wish that time allowed for the transcription of at least another dozen issues debated on the floor and that my schedule allowed for the months of continued research on the issues.

 

Each discussion has been painstakingly transcribed and omissions or summarizations have been enacted only to preserve clarity. All dialogue presented is verbatim or can be attributed to a reliable source. Conclusions are drawn only on presented material and direct observation. Integrity and reliability are the backbone of my journalistic ethics and in this retelling of the highlights of the session, the search for the truth has been my driving force.

 

Provided for reference at the close of the book is a brief "Index of Lawmakers" dealing with those who play significant or recurring roles in the drama of the 2013 session. Each individual who served with me initially commanded my respect and the respect of the chamber. Included at the end of the book are also actual bill drafts written to change the code in Montana law. These bills are also presented as both text and in document format online at leg.mt.gov. Code language is actually not as complicated or overwhelming as one might think, and consulting the entire bill text available should help clarify points for readers.

 

ON THE FLOOR is only a brief sample of legislative work during my time on the floor of the Montana State House of Representatives. I was honored to serve my community and will be forever thankful for the good timing that allowed and encouraged me to do so.

 

Is democracy alive and well in America? ON THE FLOOR provides a glimpse into how the system is working in Montana. I certainly have tried to have faith in the system and will continue to have faith in the intelligence of the American voter.

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—Reilly Neill

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