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Quick Facts
Personal Details

Caucuses/Former Committees

Former Member, Highways and Transportation Committee, Montana State Senate

Former Chair, Joint Select Committee on Settlement Accountability, Montana State Senate

Former Member, Natural Resources Committee, Montana State Senate

Political Experience

  • Senator, Montana State Senate, 2002-present
  • Candidate, Montana State Senate, District 30, 2018
  • Representative, Montana State House of Representatives, 2010-2012

Current Legislative Committees

Chair, Ethics Committee

Member, Joint Interim Committee on Children, Families, Health, and Human Services

Member, Joint Interim Committee on Law and Justice

Member, Joint Interim Committee on Local Government

Member, Joint Legislative Audit Committee

Member, Judiciary Committee

Vice Chair, Local Government Committee

Policy Positions

Montana State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life

2. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

3. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

Budget Stabilization:

Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Montana's budget.

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- No Answer

2. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees?
- Yes

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No Answer

4. An income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No

5. Eliminating block grants to public school districts?
- No

6. Decreasing funding to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services?
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- Instituting work requirements and asset tests for able-bodied adults on Medicaid. I would support changing pension benefits for newly hired state workers. These questions are posed long before you have the real time information to make reasoned judgments about the budget. That will probably not happen until the last part of April, 2019.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- Yes

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- No Answer

3. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- No Answer

4. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- I support transparency in campaign finance. I just want to know who's paying for the ad and/or contributing to a candidate.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- No

3. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No Answer

4. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- A 16 or 17 year old minor accused of a violent crime could be prosecuted as an adult in some cases.

Economic

1. Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

2. Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

3. Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

4. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No

5. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- Yes

6. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Montana?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- I support any automatic minimum wage increases already in Montana or federal law.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Montana?
- No Answer

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No Answer

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Montana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- I support existing tax credits for private school students. I'm unfamiliar with any federal education standards we do not adhere to. I think immigrants that have begun a legal path to either citizenship or a visa could be allowed to get in-state tuition if they were educated in a Montana high school.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- No

2. Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- No Answer

4. Other or expanded principles
- I support the programs that build pipelines and water systems to bring clean water to communities. Most regulation in this area will add to consumer's utility costs.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No

4. Should a license be required for gun ownership?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Some teachers if properly trained could be part of a resource officer presence in the school.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- No Answer

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Montana's health care programs?
- No

3. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- No Answer

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No

6. Do you support increasing state funding for tracking and reporting opioid usage and overdoses?
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- Government should fund some drug treatment programs for all drug abuse not just opioid abuse. Medicaid Expansion should have an enforceable work requirement and a reasonable asset test to qualify for benefits. I'm in support of very limited vaccination exemptions.

Social

1. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Montana's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Montana's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

3. Do you support greater efforts by Montana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- No Answer

4. Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate?
- No Answer

5. Other or expanded principles
- I think government should stay out of all 4 of these areas.

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- Balance the Budget, Lower the regulatory burden on citizens, If that is not possible, speed up the bureaucratic process to better serve Montana residents.