Montana House lawmakers on Wednesday endorsed a $16.6 billion two-year budget that includes a hearty investment in the state's correctional facilities, the renewal of government-funded health care for low-income earners and hunter's safety education. What emerged from the House floor with a preliminary vote of 60 to 39 is $293.9 million more than Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's proposed budget. Of that increase, $40.9 million comes from the state's general fund, coffers that are largely filled through income taxes. Rep. Llew Jones, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, encouraged his colleagues to advance the proposal without changes, saying it "stays between the lines" of what the state spends versus what it earns through taxes and federal dollars. Despite the Conrad Republican's somewhat playful pleas to not touch House Bill 2, the legislation that lays out the bulk of the state's operational funding for the next two years, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle tried to tinker with the budget in a daylong floor session. People are also reading... Luxury Montana resort to get private room in Missoula airport Missoula teen facing 11 rape charges to be tried as adult, judge rules City drops sexual assault charges against Missoula businessman Missoula planners eye intersection, speed limit changes on Reserve Street Large new condominium building planned for downtown Missoula Former Helena building group executive director gets 5 years for embezzling over $300,000 Feds slash nearly $2 million in Missoula Co. grants for social workers, energy efficiency Kalispell man sentenced to 40 years for beating death of homeless man Lawsuit targets Missoula County, former officer for sexual assault at jail Sen. Sheehy, who started aerial firefighting company, wants to end USFS aircraft inspections Gianforte's priority bills emerge: Business equipment exemptions and lower income taxes Missoula bio teacher heads to Costa Rica to help turtles Gov. Gianforte's major property tax bill lacks support, private email indicates Large new hotel planned for vacant land on Missoula's Expressway Montana Senate votes to censure Sen. Ellsworth, revoking nearly all legislative abilities Fiscal conservatives attempted -- unsuccessfully -- to ratchet down HB 2's price tag. Rep. Jerry Schillinger, R-Circle, said the budget in its current form is " bigger than most of us on the conservative side want to see," but he acknowledged the difficulties faced by agencies who have to do more with less in the face of inflation. Democrats characterized the budget as a good starting point, but thought they had left dollars on the table that could go toward things like social services and public education. The GOP-controlled House did not muster enough Republican support to pass HB 2 without their Democratic colleagues; 24 of the 42 Democrats voted in favor of the bill. Rep. Mary Caferro, a Helena Democrat and longtime appropriator for the minority, was among the 18 Democrats who voted against the budget. She said too many moving parts are still in play, including the swirling tax bills, for her to vote in favor of the budget. "I cannot vote for the budget until I know more about property taxes, the income tax breaks, all of these trusts where they'll be transferring money," Caferro told reporters after the hearing. Budget negotiations are ongoing as Montana legislators have so far been unable to agree on a tax reduction package. Federal funds, which account for nearly half of the state's operating budget, are on the chopping block. And the Legislative Fiscal Division projects Montana will be spending $12 million more than it is earning by 2029. Ultimately, the version of HB 2 that appears poised to pass the chamber looks much like what came out of the House Appropriations Committee, the culmination of months of deliberations both in public committee hearings and behind closed doors. Lawmakers in the House will take a final vote on HB 2 Thursday, then move it to the Senate to be heard by the Finance and Claims Committee. "There are areas I'd like smaller, there are areas I'd like bigger," Jones said. "Overall, it represents good work." Public Health With its more than $7 billion biennial budget, the Department of Public Health and Human Services is the single largest state agency in terms of both dollars and employees. It accounts for nearly half of the spending in HB 2 and brings in hundreds of millions of federal dollars. Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance, is the foundation of the DPHHS budget. For every dollar the state spends on health care for program enrollees, the feds reimburse at varying levels based on the patient and the type of services. Medicaid dollars flow through nearly every crevice of the hefty DPHHS budget. Heading into the session, Gianforte's proposed budget funded the renewal of Medicaid expansion to the tune of $2 billion over the biennium in mostly federal money. It was already passed last month relatively painlessly by the Legislature. Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, noted Wednesday her frustration that the state health department's budget discussion was conducted with Medicaid as a foregone issue. Rather, House Bill 245, the Medicaid expansion bill, looked like "it didn't have a fiscal note" when in fact it represents a sizable portion of the agency's budget. HB 2 includes a 3% reimbursement rate increase to all providers, totaling about $54 million in general fund spending and $103 million in matching federal funds. Gov. Gianforte signs bill to renew Medicaid expansion, health care for 77,000 Montanans Republicans tried to claw back the rate bump on the House floor, saying the Legislature approved reimbursement increases the session prior. They had no luck convincing a majority of the chamber to join them. Democrats tried their hand at expanding the budget on social services, though failed to garner enough support to pass a handful of amendments. They would have drawn from the $300 million Behavioral Health Systems for Future Generations fund allocated last session. The 2023 effort created an interim commission that crafted 22 recommendations for improving mental health care across the state. Gianforte chose to partially fund about 10, and the House reduced that funding even further. Public Safety The public safety components of the state budget tallied up to $1.2 billion by the time the House finished tweaking it. The Montana Department of Corrections accounts for about half of that figure, and the biggest item of debate for the prison system on Wednesday centered on the state's increasing reliance on out-of-state placements for male prisoners, 600 of which are currently housed in private prisons in Arizona or Mississippi. The state budget includes $24 million for continued use of those beds. The Legislature has at times waffled on those out-of-state beds, but the alternative would require the state to mash those inmates back into overcrowded jails while prison expansion projects get underway. Prison expansion, out-of-state beds on deck in Legislature's budget debate Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, offered a third option in arguing for an amendment to remove the $13 million earmarked for CoreCivic's out-of-state beds: parole, probation and substance abuse prevention. Rep. John Fitzpatrick, an Anaconda Republican and the main shepherd of prison expansion legislation this session, called Howell's suggestion "completely fallacious," contending the inmates who are sent to CoreCivic's facilities have been selected because of their long sentences. Howell's amendment failed on a 40-59 vote. The public safety budget within House Bill 2 also carries two new district court judges for Yellowstone County, pay raises for Montana Highway Patrol troopers and eight new attorneys for the state public defender's office over the next two years. One of the rare amendments the House did tack on to the state budget on Wednesday was an additional $400,000 for two new rail inspectors at the Public Service Commission. Requested by Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, and carried by Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, lawmakers spoke about being disturbed by the frequent train derailments across Montana. The addition passed on a 60-39 vote. Natural Resources and Transportation The section of the budget that deals with natural resources and transportation includes Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Conservation, Transportation, Livestock and Agriculture, meaning it covers crucial parts of Montana's economic engine and tourism sectors. HB 2 allocates $2.9 billion, about 18% of the budget, to those agencies, which employ nearly 4,000 state jobs. The Department of Transportation gets the biggest chunk of money in this section of the budget, about $240 million more than what lawmakers appropriated in the 2023 session. That includes 22 new positions that will go toward bridge replacements and maintenance, $127 million for contractor payments and a multi-million-dollar increase in multiple federal funding streams that go toward safety, transit and local governments. DEQ is budgeted to get five more positions at a cost of $2.3 million to address the increasing caseload of analyses the department has to undertake for construction and energy projects. It is also slated to get $5.4 million in mine reclamation funding. FWP is getting a $23.5 million bump above this year's funding levels, including 23 new positions and $6 million more for aircraft and vehicle maintenance. There is also one-time money going toward expanding AmeriCorps, funding more maintenance at fishing access sites, and helping the Department of Transportation keep streams and rivers clear of debris during bridge construction. Rep. Marilyn Marler, D-Missoula, saw an amendment approved to add new positions in FWP's Communication and Education Division and facilitate more in-person hunter education classes. Several Republicans supported the change, saying they agreed that federal matching funds from gun sales would be the perfect allocation to increase hunter training and gun safety programs. The amendment was adopted in a 58-40 vote. The DNRC is getting $15 million more than its current budget, including $2 million for water storage projects, five more jobs in the Director's Office and Water Resources Division, $1.9 for additions to the stream gauge network, and $1.7 million going toward water rights and water measurement databases. Government Operations Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, brought the amendment and said he had "pushed back" against the idea when it first came up in committee and had worked to cut into it. Typically, agencies utilize vacancy savings, money allocated to them for positions that go unfilled, for other projects. The budget would have reallocated that money to the Governor's Office of Budget and Program Planning and carried broad authority for executive agencies to use to retain existing employees and try to recruit new ones - especially those in highly skilled positions who could make more in the private sector. Both Falk and Rep. Jill Cohenour, an East Helena Democrat, said approving the amendment would cut down on vacancy savings they said have ballooned in recent years, and put recruitment and retention more into the hands of each agency instead of the governor's budget office. 0 Comments Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Carly Graf State Bureau Health Care Reporter Author twitter Author email Follow Carly Graf Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Seaborn Larson State Bureau Reporter Author facebook Author twitter Author email Follow Seaborn Larson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Blair Miller Montana State News Bureau Editor Author email Follow Blair Miller Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today