Testimony of Gov. JUDY MARTZ
At Senate Business and Labor Committee
For Senate Bill 445
Room 422, 8:00 a.m.
February 14, 2001

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. For the record, I am Governor Judy Martz. I am here this morning to support Senate Bill 445, sponsored by Senator Taylor on behalf of our administration. This bill would reorganize the Department of Commerce.

We want to transform the Department into a more efficient government entity that will coordinate a strategic plan for economic development. Its base will be in the Governor's Office, providing a statewide focus in the areas of business retention, technology, and workforce development.

We're going to move regulatory functions to other departments so that Commerce can focus on attracting and encouraging business growth.

The departments and divisions within Commerce whose function is to promote and attract business expansion will be moved directly to the Governor's Office.

I want them developing plans of action. I want them setting quantifiable goals and objectives with realistic timetables for completion. Most importantly, I want results. And that means new jobs in Montana.

There is no greater challenge facing Montana than job creation and economic growth. Our administration accepts the challenge and steps up to the plate with this legislation.

This is a highly competitive environment. We all know that Montana is a great place to live. Our challenge is prove that Montana is a great place to do business.

Every governor in the nation is searching for new jobs and new opportunities. That's why a key component of our reorganization is to place greater emphasis on business attraction.

We will reorganize Commerce into five different areas: Board of Investment, Montana Promotion, Public Finance, Business Technical Assistance, and Management Services.

The Commerce Department received in the neighborhood of 1,000 inquiries from an ad placed in Forbes magazine last year. No one anticipated that level of response -- nor were we equipped to handle business attraction on that large a scale.

Worse yet, when companies do express interest, they soon learn that our regulatory and business climate is so cumbersome that it is almost too difficult to relocate here.

When a young CEO of a Montana startup was recently asked what things he would have done differently in starting his business here, his answer was simply that he wouldn't have started it in Montana. We need make it easier for young Montanans like him get into business.

We will consolidate the myriad loan, grant, and incentive programs under one umbrella so that Montanans and others who want to start or expand their venture will have readily available access to information and the capital they need to get off the ground.

And finally, state government cannot undertake a top-down approach to development. It needs to be done neighbor-to-neighbor, community by community.

I believe we shouldn't dictate what communities will and will not do -- we should only facilitate. As a part of Commerce's reorganization, I am going to put greater emphasis on community assessment.

Our administration will be out working aggressively to help communities. We must help them determine the resources they have and the types of jobs they want to attract. They need to have their infrastructure inventoried so that when opportunities do arise, we can help match them with businesses who are looking for what they offer.

Then, we need to help them plan a job creation strategy tailored to the community's needs -- and get government out of the way so they can get the job done.

I support Senate Bill 445 and I'm here today to ask for a "Do Pass" from each of you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

-END-