Rep. Tom Millett, House District 2

Recently, Josh Kassmier, former Republican senator from Senate District 13 (Ft. Benton), penned an op-ed in the Helena IR attacking real Republican senators for all things bad that occurred in the just concluded legislative session. The charges include everything from torpedoing income tax reduction legislation to trying to stop Governor Gianforte’s property tax bills and even approving the construction of a new $160 million government office building that may or may not be needed. Let’s look at these charges in detail and find out what the truth really is.

Former Republican senator Kassmier alleges that his income tax reduction legislation, SB 323, “introduced by Gov. Gianforte”, should have “easily sailed through” because of “Republican control in Helena” but Senate leaders Matt Regier and Ken Bogner “chose to torpedo it”. First, the governor is prohibited from introducing legislation in the legislature because that action is reserved exclusively for legislators per legislative rules. Second, former Republican senator Kassmier says that SB 323 should have easily passed due to “Republican control in Helena”. Really? Does former Republican senator Kassmier forget that he and the other eight former Republican senators (collectively known as the Nasty Nine), through their defection from the Republican party, handed control of the Montana Senate over to the Democrats? By my count, after the defection, there were only 23 real Republicans vs. (effectively) 27 Democrats. Who really had control in Helena? Third, SB 323 didn’t make it out of the Senate because of Matt Regier and Ken Bogner “torpedoing” it but because it was tabled in committee by 3 Democrats, 1 Nasty Nine senator and 3 real Republicans with 1 real Republican voting FOR it! Additionally, when former Republican senator Kassmier himself made a motion on the Senate floor to take SB 323 from the committee he couldn’t even whip enough votes to be successful with 9 Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers and one of “the Nasty Nine”, voting against his motion. Real Republicans didn’t torpedo SB 323, Democrats and one Nasty Nine did.

Additionally, former Republican senator Kassmier says that Republican senators tried to stop the governors property tax relief plan and accuses those senators of trying to shield wealthy nonresidents from higher property taxes instead of providing relief to full-time Montana residents. First, the tax relief plan eventually cobbled together by the legislature should properly be called a “property tax relief for-some-and-pain-for-other plan”. The plan simply shifts the property tax burden from one class of property owners to another using a progressive taxing scheme similar to that advocated for in the Communist Manifesto. The new property tax relief plan is now being picked apart and it’s flaws exposed by the Tax Foundation as well as economist Dr. Jeremy Horpendahl and the Frontier Institute. Real Republicans saw this property tax relief for-some-and-pain-for-other plan as just another shell game where the tax burden would be shifted to many Montanans with second homes or generational family cabins. Real Republicans like Barry Usher, Theresa Manzella, Daniel Emrich, Mark Noland, Dennis Lenz, and Daniel Zolnikov stood against this tax shift scheme. In the end, this “plan” delivered a property tax shift and robbed Montanans of the needed tax reform they demanded by voting for what they thought were real Republicans in 2024.

Finally, the claim of former Republican senator Kassmier that real Republicans approved spending $160 million dollars on a new government office building that would not be used 20 out of 24 months is patently false. The truth is that SJ 6 is a resolution, a statement by the legislature and not a spending bill, in which the legislature “…consents to and approves the Long-Range Legislative Branch Capitol Development Plan as recommended by the Legislative Council.” However, what former Republican senator Kassmier (or his ghostwriter) leaves out, if he (they) bothered to read SJ 6 is, “That the 69th Montana Legislature does not consent to or approve any future option as provided for in the Long-Range Legislative Branch Capitol Development Plan to construct a new building to accommodate additional space needs of the Legislature.” Former Republican senator former Republican senator Kassmier (or his ghostwriter) conveniently left that part out which begs the question, Why? And one more thing, former Republican senator Kassmier actually voted FOR SJ 6 on final passage! Former Republican senator Kassmier actually did what he is accusing Republicans of doing…spending $160 million dollars on a building that is not needed!

In summary:

Real Republicans didn’t sink former Republican senator Kassmier’s income tax reduction bill, SB 323, Democrats and a fake Republican did,

Real Republicans stood firm against a communist-inspired property tax shifting scheme and,

Real Republicans never spent $160 million dollars on a government building, but former Republican senator Kassmier (or his ghostwriter) thinks so because he (they) never read SJ 6.

Rep. Tom Millett is a real Republican who represents the Marion-Libby area.