Speech
Coal Trust/Tobacco Tax Testimony (HB 750)
Remarks of Governor Judy Martz
State Capitol
3/14/2003
Chairman Lewis, members of the House Appropriations Committee, for the record, I am Judy Martz, governor of the great state of Montana. I am here in support of House Bill 750, sponsored by Representative Roy Brown.
First, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Representative Brown, and all those who worked so hard to create this compromise bill. Since the beginning of January, I have asked that Democrats and Republicans reach across the aisle to find a compromise that we can all support, and I firmly believe that this bill brings us closer to that goal.
You all know that I have been adamant in the past about my stand on tax increases. I firmly believe that it is not right to raise taxes on hardworking Montana families in these difficult economic times, and a tobacco tax increase does just that.
Because you know how strongly I have stood against tax increases, you also know that it would take a very unique situation for me to lend my support to any tax increase. I have spent many hours considering all options before deciding to put the weight of my office behind this bill.
At the end of the day, I support House Bill 750 because I believe that we are faced with an incredibly challenging budget situation, the likes of which we have not seen in many years.
I believe, first and foremost, that the best available option to fund programs for those most in need is the one-time transfer of $93 million from the coal trust fund. I stand fully behind the proposal that we brought forward on November 15. And in a perfect world, I believe that we took the right approach - drawing on our savings for the one year that we need the funding to bring our state's budget back into balance.
However, we need the full support of Republicans and Democrats to balance the budget through the coal trust fund alone.
The health of our Montana children and families must come first. If garnering the support for the programs that provide critical services to Montana families requires that I support a temporary tobacco tax increase in order to gain support for our coal trust fund proposal, than I am willing to make that compromise for the good of the people we serve.
I believe that you as legislators should closely weigh the merits of this proposal. When you do, I know that you will find as I have, that this is the vehicle to accomplish our mutual goals - meeting the needs of our Montana families.
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I do not lend my support to this bill lightly. I sincerely hope that, in the interest of compromise, you will find it in your hearts to support House Bill 750 as well.
Thank you.
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