(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Religion in schools, consolidated ballots and ‘passion’ on the House floor – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- March'] Date: 2023-03-02 Rep. Caleb Hinkle said private guardian ad litems in Gallatin County were a “frickin’ problem” in a heated closing to his bill that ultimately failed Thursday. Emotions were high on several issues Thursday morning as legislators rushed to meet Friday’s transmittal deadline, or the deadline for all bills without money attached to them. Hinkle, a Republican from Belgrade, yelled into the mic on the House floor that the court advocate organizations were profiting from “biased decisions” from standing masters in child protective cases. Guardian ad litems are court appointed advocates for minors and may be attorneys. House Bill 762 died 43-57, and Hinkle left the chamber with his older brother, fellow Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, R-Belgrade, following him shortly after. The younger Hinkle was at one point intercepted by House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, R- Billings, and they had a short discussion. Vinton told the Daily Montanan she asked if Hinkle was doing OK and said he’s “obviously passionate about the issue.” Hinkle said he would likely bring the bill again next session. He wasn’t the only one with his heart on his sleeve Thursday. Rep. Eric Matthews, D-Bozeman, wiped away tears as he spoke in opposition to a bill that purports to uphold parental rights in schools. Sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, House Bill 676 includes language that parents be notified if a teacher suspects the child had experienced abuse or neglect. The bill passed 67-33. Matthews, an educator for more than 20 years, said that not all parents have a child’s best interest at heart, and in some cases you may be sending a child home to their abuser. He said he could remember situations when he knew not to call a child’s parents because he knew what would happen. Rep. Neil Duram, R-Eureka, said to assume parents are at fault is unfair. In closing on the bill, Seekins-Crowe talked about a scenario where her son got into an altercation, and he was kicked off his sports team without an investigation and without her being notified, and only after she got involved was an investigation conducted and he was cleared. She said parents need to be involved. Matthews also spoke up against another bill that says it would protect the religious rights of students and teachers in schools, a right Matthews said they already have. He said he doesn’t know what people think is happening in public schools, but that schools teach world religions, and the legislature is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Jedediah Hinkle talked about a situation from his childhood when a teacher told him he couldn’t submit an assignment where he drew a scene from the Bible, citing it as a reason this bill was needed. He said his parents got a lawyer involved and he ultimately was able to submit it. House Bill 744, sponsored by Rep. Greg Kmetz, R- Miles City, passed 71-28. A similar bill from Kmetz on protecting religious texts in schools, which Matthews said was also still permitted, passed 69-31. Towards the end of the morning, Rep. Mike Hopkins, R-Missoula, brought forward a bill to consolidate elections to be held on primary and general election days of even years. He said it wasn’t fully ready, but meant to start a conversation and be finalized as it goes on to Appropriations and the Senate. Rep. Denise Baum, D-Billings, who sits on House State Administration, said the committee received the 76-page bill on Tuesday, the last day committees met before transmittal. She said there are lots of different elections with different boundaries, requiring different ballots, like school board elections, water district elections and so on. Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, said you would confuse the public with “40 different ballots.” Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, said you’d be “scaring the hell out of” local election administrators that are already overwhelmed, and that he’d be a no. The fiscal note on the bill has it costing the state $84,000 a year from the general fund. Vinton followed these comments saying this bill was simple and just about increasing voter turnout. Some of the non-believers switched, and the bill passed 68-32. Gunderson told the Daily Montanan he switched his vote when it looked like it was going to pass, but said it better look a lot different after it comes out of Appropriations. “When I see it again, it better be a whole different bill,” he said. Two abortion bills, one bringing back LR-131 with new language and another requiring pre-authorization for abortions for patients under Medicaid passed on the floor. A bill from Rep. Nelly Nicol, R-Billings, that would have impacted workers compensation insurance claims failed,with 90 votes in opposition lighting the whole voting board up red. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/03/02/religion-in-schools-consolidated-ballots-and-passion-on-the-house-floor/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/