Becky Beard: Senate District 40 update

At the end of the deadline, over 800 bills have cleared at least one of the two chambers — nearly 500 from the House and over 300 from the Senate.

This is my first session representing Senate District 40, which according to the 2020 Census, is comprised of nearly 22,600 people. This is roughly double my previous constituency as the representative for HD 80. The number of e-mails, telephone messages and letters reflect that my neighbors are very much engaged in their government. It’s challenging to respond to all these queries, and I’m giving it my utmost attention, while engaging in committee hearings, Senate Floor discussions and debates, and introducing bills on behalf of all of us.

Of Montana’s 1.1 million population, almost 20% are over 65 years of age. During the last handful of months we’re reading in the news that a number of assisted-living and nursing home facilities are shuttering their doors. With the closure of these facilities and the stories about what residents and their families experienced in the aftermath of the closures, we are left to conclude that our most vulnerable elderly citizens are now among the most invisible Montanans. Some families have the resources and support to keep their loved ones at home, but fewer and fewer are equipped with home environments and resources to do so. Many Montanans need more specialized, intensified and professional services.

That’s why I’ve introduced SB 296, creating the Senior Care Facility Access and Stabilization Act. This bill proposes to revise funding laws related to skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities to actually meet realistic provider rates (as presented in a late 2022 study); to establish procedures for calculating room and board for assisted-living residents; and to require money already appropriated in HB 2 for nursing home services to be used only for those purposes.

Our state needs to affirm the importance of providing our most vulnerable older Montanans with quality residential long-term care services that are close to home, family and friends. These people have served their communities —been our teachers; our soldiers; our ranchers and farmers; our moms and dads; our loved ones. This should rank as a high priority for our state’s services for these citizens who’ve contributed so much. SB 296 aims to put in place some basic standards about how we create an environment in which we can have a stable provider community and assure access to services for those who need them.

A related House Bill, HB 649, would implement boosted rates for senior care facilities as determined by the 2022 rate study. Based on that study’s conclusions, HB 649’s fiscal note utilizes an average daily rate among all facilities of $349.56 for 2024. However, HB 2, the overall general appropriation legislation each biennium, is in progress and proposes much lower rate projections than the study shows necessary.

As the second half of the Session progress, I will continue to keep you updated on developments at the Capitol.

Of the bills I’ve sponsored, SB 103 will revise airport courtesy car insurance requirements, which particularly impacts our smaller, rural airports. Senate Bill 121 reduces the top marginal income tax rate and increases the Montana Earned Income Tax Credit, and is set to be signed by the governor. SB 132, Revising Ag Education Laws, will update the funding distribution to advance agricultural education in high school programs, and has been transmitted to the House. SB 159, an act to remove authority by counties to exercise eminent domain for public recreational or cultural purposes and by the Land Board to designate natural areas has also passed to the House.

My overall goal remains: minimizing government’s overarching footprint and taxation burdens, while promoting the success of Montana’s education, our economy, and our rule of law. I continue to work for the improvement and preservation of our Montana way of life.

It is my honor and privilege to serve the voters of SD 40 and our state. You can easily follow the day-to-day status of bills by going to the Montana Legislative website, leg.mt.gov —  click on “Look Up Bills.” As always, please feel free to contact me at becky.beard@legmt.gov Thank you.