On the Floor

ON THE FLOOR ON THE FLOOR Tales from the Montana State House REILLY NEILL Montana State Representative – House District 62 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Reilly Neill All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal. First Printing: 2014 ISBN 978-1-312-56086-4 Published by Reilly Neill Post Office Box 1632 Livingston, Montana, 59047 Cover photo credit: Tracy Elizabeth www.flickr.com/photos/tracyelizabeths "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." WINSTON CHURCHILL CONTENTS Introduction to Government .................................... 1 Chapter 1: Sex on the Floor....................................10 Chapter 2: Shooting a Gun in Public is A-Okay ........24 Chapter 3: Establishing a Historical Rifle.................30 Chapter 4: Going Against the Herd..........................40 Chapter 5: A Gold Mine of Dinosaur Bones.............50 Chapter 6: Dark Money in the House ......................56 Chapter 7: Medicaid Expansion...............................68 Chapter 8: A Question of Perspective ......................83 Chapter 9: End of Session ......................................89 Index of Lawmakers .............................................107 Bill Language.......................................................123 Acknowledgements...............................................187 Introduction to Government Many say they hear a calling to be a politician. For me, it was tim- ing. I've always had an idealistic hope for small-town journalism re- gardless of the dim road ahead for print media. I chose newspaper publishing as my primary career path for decades. Work with news- papers provided me with a living in exchange for hard work and dedication to my community. So, while the newspaper industry was continuing its decline over the past decade, I published a barely break-even but popular newsweekly in Livingston, Montana. An ideal career for me would have continued in the press industry as an editor or publisher, but this endeavor was gradually becoming volunteer work. I still relished the opportunity to serve my fellow residents but the possibilities for doing so were scarce in the small town where I lived. The job of State Representative was available. The incumbent was unpopular, a Tea Party member who voted to bring back the gold standard in Montana and start the process of seceding from the Union. The Montana State Legislature offered only scant pay and per diem, but the job would be a jumping-off point from community service to public service. In January 2012 I put my name on the ballot to run for the Mon- tana State House of Representatives and represent the community I had known and served with the newspaper. In Montana anyone can file to run for the office of State Repre- sentative as long as they are of legal age and are capable of managing a few campaign finance reports. House District races are small, usually involving about 10,000 people. Campaign donations are limited to no more than $170 a person, so election season is anything but ex- travagant. 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 1 ON THE FLOOR people. House members serve for two years but only one 90-day leg- islative session. The city limits of Livingston, Montana roughly comprise House District 60, a district held fairly evenly by either a Democrat or a Re- publican, depending on the election year. Livingston 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 the American Indian in Park County is nearly extinct except for a few historic markers and the existence of the last genetically-pure American bison herd 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. As a novice politician and independent-leaning Democrat, cam- paigning among the residents of Livingston was anything but conventional for me. For nearly a year before election day 2012, I worked both on selling the struggling newspaper I had founded and winning an election. As a 38-year-old single mom of a pre-schooler, I knew building a new career in midlife, while balancing the demands of motherhood, would be tough but not impossible. I hoped for the best and plunged ahead. I campaigned by spending mornings in the coffee houses speaking with moms about their concerns, and afternoons chatting with the happy hour crew at district watering holes, talking about working people's issues. I met now and then with city officials or local organi- zations for lunch and tried to make myself available to my potential constituency on Saturday mornings at the public library. I also continued to publish the newspaper. My race against the 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 my 2 INTRODUCTION TO GOVERNMENT campaign. Donations to these dark money groups is not required to be recorded in any campaign finance reports and many of these organiza- tions have corporate backing. One of these groups, the American Tradition Partnership, launched an attack on my 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. The story was all over the news, but not in the newspaper I published. For the duration of the campaign I printed no campaign advertisements or editorial for myself in the newspaper I operated, and only referenced my run for office once, early in the race. At heart I was a journalist. Behind the scenes I found out who was behind the smear campaign in the days before the election. I con- fronted the president of his 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 put a writer on the story after the election and expose him. He re- sponded 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. On election night November 6, I won the district 2,431 to 2,097 votes. Within a few months I dissolved my business and sold what I could of the newspaper to pay off debt and provide myself a small stipend. By January of 2013 my 4-year-old son and I were on our way to Helena, Montana, two hours northwest of Livingston. Founded as a gold camp in 1864, many of the original streets of Helena followed the chaotic paths of the miners, meandering around claims along Last Chance Gulch at the center of the town. My son and I found a furnished rental a few blocks from downtown and the spec- tacular St. Helena Cathedral. The Capitol building was a quick walk from my house, less than a mile away. I went to work in the chambers every day—usually Monday through Saturday—and my son attended a day care across the street from Capitol Hill. Topped with an impressive and imposing copper rotunda, the Montana State Capitol stands on a hill overlooking the rest of Helena. In the central interior chamber of the building, four circular paintings 3 ON THE FLOOR surround the base of the rotunda dome and flank a massive three-floor marble staircase below. Each painting above the staircase represents an archetype in Montana history: American Indian, explorer and fur trapper, gold miner, and cowboy. The western arch of barrel vault over the staircase features the semi-elliptical painting "Driving The Golden Spike" of the Transcon- tinental Railroad by Amédée Joullin. The eastern arch frames a view to the vast high plains south of the city and Canyon Ferry Lake some 20 miles away. Statues of Montana political icons Jeannette Rankin, in 1916 the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, and Mike Mansfield, a U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator, the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader, and later, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, rest in a backdrop of polished wood banisters and stained glass on descending landings. On the lower levels are press and caucus rooms, a post office and a cafe- teria, the "Politically Correct Café." The primary purpose of the capitol building is to house t`he Gov- ernor's office and the Montana State House and Senate members when the legislature is in session. The House and Senate chambers adjoin one another on the third floor, separated by a carpeted and elaborate lobby and a labyrinth of anterooms.

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