HELENA POLITICS:
Over the past few weeks, many folks have headed to Helena to lobby against the CSKT Water Compact. We’ve heard stories of legislators that “get it” and who will not be voting for the compact, some that want to be confrontational, to others that simply avoid talking to anyone who opposes the compact.
Where this all ends up is anyone’s guess.
Will legislators ultimately do the right thing and vote NO for a compact that they likely haven’t read or do not understand, or will they listen to the compact commission and attorney general’s talking points and give the compact a pass?
Will they ignore the solid legal arguments against the most egregious components of the compact, or will they uphold their oath to protect and defend the constitution? Only time will tell.
We highly recommend that people take nothing for granted, and continue to contact legislators because of what is at stake here.
We have been told that the bill is being introduced in the Senate to give the compact the most momentum possible. The RINO’s in the senate will likely side with the Democrats and with a simple majority vote, the compact could pass in the senate if it gets to the floor. This makes it crucial to try to get the compact killed in the Senate Judiciary committee. We still have a chance that the bill will fail in the senate. If the bill does pass in the Senate however, we would like to remind everyone that it still must get through the house, which will be much more difficult to do.
In the meantime, please do your part by contacting legislators in the House and the Senate asking them to VOTE NO ON THE CSKT WATER COMPACT.
SB0262 COMPACT HEARING SCHEDULED FOR SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:
Chas Vincent’s Compact Ratification Bill SB262 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday 02/16/2015 at 8:00 a.m. in Room 303. We had hoped that those scheduling the hearing would consider the time it takes to get to Helena from Northwestern Montana, but apparently that was not the case.
URGENT CALL TO ACTION: ASKING AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO TRAVEL TO HELENA FOR HEARINGS
We are putting out the call to get as many people to Helena as possible for the hearing on SB0262 on Monday 02/16/15 at 8:00 a.m. in Room 303. If you are interested in taking a bus, please contact the following individuals for location, time and cost:
URGENT CALL TO ACTION – PLEASE CONTACT SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE THE COMPACT
NOTE: With Chas Vincent on the Senate Judiciary Committee and carrying the water compact bill, it is very likely this is not a friendly committee. In Helena yesterday, Nels Swandal told us he was likely going to vote for the compact. Please contact the members of this committee and urge them to oppose the compact Bill SB0262.
PLEASE CONTACT THESE LEGISLATORS AND URGE THEM TO OPPOSE THE WATER COMPACT
Sales, Scott (R) – Chair
Fielder, Jennifer (R) – VCh
Sands, Diane (D) – MVCh
Driscoll, Robyn (D)
Hansen, Kristin (R)
Hinkle, Jedediah (R)
Kary, Doug (R)
Larsen, Cliff (D)
McNally, Mary (D)
Moe, Mary Sheehy (D)
Vincent, Chas (R)
CHAS VINCENT HOLDING COMPACT “INFORMATION HEARING” FOR LEGISLATORS HELENA:
As he promised, Chas Vincent is doing all he can to get his water compact bill passed in the Senate. In order to do so, he is holding an “informational” session on Saturday February 7th at 10:00 a.m. in Helena to help legislators understand just how wonderful he thinks the compact is. After all, he’s studied it for more than two years and “improved it” by asking for cosmetic tweaks to the compact through his Water Policy Interim Committee recommendations. The tribe and compact commission were more than happy to accommodate his non-substantive revisions in an effort to make the average person and legislators think the compact was dramatically improved from the Compact 1.0.
The meeting will be televised on the legislative website if you are interested in watching.
MONTANA LAND AND WATER ALLIANCE / CONCERNED CITIZEN IS SPONSORING A LEGISLATOR EDUCATION EVENT:
The Montana Land and Water Alliance / Concerned Citizens of Western Montana is also sponsoring a legislator Water Compact education display / event on Friday February 13, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Fan Window on the 3rd floor outside of Room 302.
We encourage the public to join us, and to bring goodies, cookies, brownies, etc, to entice legislators to stay around to meet people who will be impacted by the compact, and to listen to our concerns about the water compact. Call with questions 406-626-3353 or 520-369-1404.
DAILY INTERLAKE ARTICES ON THE WATER COMPACT
Please check out these two great editorials from the Daily Interlake about the water compact. Share them with others, and with legislators
CONTACT LEGISLATORS
Now is the time to be contacting legislators to let them know what you think about the CSKT water compact.
You can contact them by going to the following link on the legislature website and choosing a committee to send a message to, or you can send it to specifically targeted legislators. Scroll down to select a committee or legislator to send your message to. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard –
406-444-4800 – to leave message for Legislators and Committees
Messages should be brief and include a sentence or two explaining your specific concern about the compact or the bill you are writing to them about. Be specific, be sure to let the legislators know which way you would like them to vote on the bill or the issue you are emailing them about.
MONTANA LAND AND WATER ALLIANCE
Concerned Citizens of Western Montana has dedicated most of the past two and a half years to developing and providing factual information about our serious concerns with the proposed water compact for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). Instead of responding to these concerns, the negotiating parties have simply doubled down by making little if any substantive changes to the compact and keeping essentially the same agreement alive for the upcoming 2015 legislative session.
While we will continue our public education efforts, and to work with legislators in the hope that they will ultimately say no to this dangerous and destructive “agreement”, we also understand the necessity of taking far stronger action in advance of and in response to the state’s ongoing refusal to provide for an equitable division of waters, their continued insistence on expanding federal reserved water rights into something that is no longer recognizable, and their general failure to protect the existing and historical uses of water of its citizens.
A very reliable source told us that highly placed Montana officials believe that once the CSKT water compact is ratified, Montanans will not be able to afford to sue to protect their water and property rights. IN OTHER WORDS, MONTANA IS COUNTING ON THE FACT THAT WE WILL NOT TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND OUR PROPERTY RIGHTS.
The Montana Land and Water Alliance was organized by Concerned Citizens of Western Montana to:
1) defeat the compact by whatever means possible, including pre-emptive actions at the legislative level by continuing to inform and educate legislators about the major problems with it, and continuing research and publication, and
2) take legal action on the compact should legislators ignore the legal and constitutional issues with the compact and pass it anyway.
Our thanks to all of you who have provided us with the financial support necessary to achieve our initial funding goals. As successful as that effort has been, even more help is needed to continue this effort. For more information please check out our website.
Eleven counties in western Montana are directly impacted, but the implications to the compact reach out to all of Montana and other western states. Please help us get the word out, and donate to our legal fund today. Your assistance is urgently needed and greatly appreciated.
VISIT OUR BLOG, SHARE IT WITH OTHERS
Concerned Citizens of Western Montana works very hard to keep up to date information and articles about the Flathead / CSKT water compact on our blog: Western Montana Water Rights
Did you know that you can “follow” our blog, and each time a new post is added, you will be sent an email notification?
To Follow the Blog: On the home page you will see a list of recent blog posts on the left. Scroll down just below the articles and you will see a section that says:
Follow the Western Montana Water Rights Blog via Email. Click the button that says FOLLOW and provide your email address. It’s that easy!
ask the bureaucrats some questions; Is it “to the bureaucrat” your position that the CONstitution and laws automatically apply to everyone physically within what is commonly called the state of “wherever”. They will inevitably answer in the affirmative.
Your next question to the psychopath that works for the government is this.. What facts do you rely on that proves your position, that your CONstitution and laws automatically apply to everyone?? They don’t understand the question BECAUSE THEY CAN’T FATHOM WHY YOU WOULD EVEN ASK FOR PROOF THAT THEIR BS APPLIES TO YOU! THEY ALSO DO NOT HAVE AN ANSWER! BECAUSE NONE OF IT APPLIES TO YOU!