November Update From Sen. Tempel

On January 6, 2025, the state of Montana begins its 69th Legislative session. In order for that to happen, a number of things come first. Beginning with the elections that many of you either worked on, voted, or ignored, if that was possible. That brings us to this past week in Helena, where I was introduced to new fellow Senators and Representatives at the Session Legislator Orientation. We first met in party training, which included new legislator orientation and training. Republicans then met in a caucus and Democrats in their own group caucus. Many items were discussed, including dress code, how to deal with committees, addressing fellow legislators, and generally preparing new and long-term legislators for the coming session. I recalled my first session, getting to the Capitol with very little idea of what was coming next. I was asked to participate on a group panel for a question-and-answer session. The idea was to give newly elected legislators time to get acquainted and have a better idea of what to expect. One new Representative said, “it felt like drinking from a fire hose.” I would say the main takeaway from last week is that every one of us legislators has a responsibility to represent our constituents, and work together to promote good public policy.

Next came the elections for leadership for the Senate and House. At this time, the House folks moved to their chambers and us Senators moved as a group to elect our new Senate President, President Pro-Tempore, Majority Leader, Committee-on-Committees (the legislators who will then assign all of us Senators to our session committees), and Whips. Knowing who leadership is gives us a path forward for how the party machinery will work during session and who will influence how business is conducted. The committee assignments were handed out, parking designated, and offices sorted out. Fortunately for me, I was able to keep my same office (330 if you come to visit). The Democrats gained two senate seats this election cycle, so we the Republicans lost an office. We are also getting a new computer system, which I guess is a good thing, but I was just figuring out the last program. The website is staying the same, (legmt.gov). My email also remains the same, ([email protected]). For all the returning legislators, all the passwords had to be redone. Thankfully, we have a great technology staff to assist with all of that.

I just checked and as of this Sunday, November 16th morning, there are 1,442 bill proposals that have been submitted. I am already getting calls to support or vote against bills. Very few of these have even been prepared or even drafted yet. All bills will be introduced and heard in session starting in January. As always, stay safe! [email protected]