In first weeks of the legislative session Gov. Steve Bullock and the Republican Majority are trading barbs over how the state should pay for big public projects, including university system improvements and maintenance in towns and counties.
On Wednesday GOP leaders revealed plans for a new system for how Montana borrows money for public works projects.
That’s a change from 2017, when powerful Republicans shot down the idea of borrowing for public works at all, in the face of a state revenue shortfall.
But that doesn’t mean Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas is happy with the Bullock administration’s infrastructure proposal, which includes roughly $160 million in borrowing.