By Sanjay Talwani – MTN News
HELENA – Senators Tuesday agreed to a so-called 'blast motion' to put the water compact bill up for a vote Wednesday.
It was almost sunk by a couple of amendments that could have sent the state and the Tribes back to the negotiating table.
“There is no room in a negotiated agreement for us to step in and start tweaking it in any way. You may not like it, but that's the way it is,” Montana Senator Mike Phillips said.
The amendments from Janna Taylor, whose Senate District includes parts of the Flathead Reservation, aim to improve transparency and accountability on costs.
“Well I just knew I wanted some kind of transparency. $55 million is a lot of money. And that's a lot of money we could use in a lot of ways in this state. So I just wanted to make sure it would be used wisely,” Montana Senator Janna Taylor said.
That money includes $$8 million in this Legislative cycle. The rest could be spent years from now, most of it for improved water infrastructure, measurement and delivery.
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Source: KPAX
