State Legislature 2022: Denise Baum

Even though I have been a public servant for over 30 years, I never saw a career in politics as being part of my future plans.  I have proudly served the Billings community for the past 19 years as a law enforcement officer with the Billings Police Department.  Of which, the last 14 years have been as a Detective, primarily investigating crimes against children.   I have seen the devastating impact that homelessness, and the lack of mental health services has had on our community.     In 2017, our Yellowstone Valley Child Advocacy Center (YVCAC), along with several other crucial DPHHS programs, were displaced and/or discontinued due to drastic cuts to the DPHHS budget.  In the 2021 legislative session, DPHHS was once again on the chopping block, reducing funding for mental health providers, along with programs for those with disabilities and seniors. Public services and programs are smart investments that pay for themselves in the long run, but they must be adequately funded. 

There were also several proposed “Right to Work” bills which sought to undermine unions, particularly those representing government workers.   As a union member of MFPE, I joined their “Rapid Response Team” and contacted those legislators and committee members who were proposing these bills through email, text messaging and telephone calls.  All of the bills were defeated.

There were also some bills proposed that impeded proactive efforts of law enforcement and attempted to undermine the investigative process concerning child forensic interviews which are conducted with child victims of sexual and physical abuse.  These bills, had they passed, would have resulted in diminishing our public safety.  I strongly believe I can bring some institutional knowledge to the legislature and recommend changes that will strengthen our public safety and provide funding for crucial public services and programs.  It was these experiences that left me with a desire to do more both for my community and the betterment of all Montanans. 

My three top priorities are properly and adequately funding DPHHS; funding our public-school systems along with the mental health services within our public schools; and lastly, preserving and maintaining access to our public lands. 

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is truly a “mega” human services agency which comprises 48% of the total HB 2 funding appropriations.  DPHHS provides public safety net programs, public health programs, health care services for low-income and vulnerable populations, childcare assistance, TANF, SNAP, Low income energy assistance programs, mental health services and numerous other programs that benefit communities as a whole.  Childcare assistance is crucial to getting people back into the workforce as is ensuring that all Montanans have access to affordable healthcare and mental health services.  

We need to better educate our future workforce by expanding vocational and technical opportunities in our public school systems.  Mental health services within the schools is lacking both in funding and staff and this issue has been further complicated by the new multi-step changes to the Comprehensive School and Community Treatment (CSCT) program.  Increasing mental health providers within the schools will allow teachers to focus on teaching.   

My family hunts, fishes and we are avid hikers, and have a love of the outdoors. My hope is that future legislation will allow access to the many sections of public lands that are landlocked by private land owners, and that long-standing protections are enacted to ensure clean water and clean air for the next generations.

In general, I agree with the statement that control and authority should be returned to local communities as each community will have its own unique set of challenges or concerns.  However, in terms of environmental concerns such as air quality, clean water,  wildlife management, and public school standards,  the State should retain control and set standards.  Local governing bodies can enact their own local ordinances that are more restrictive of State guidelines but cannot be less restrictive.  This past legislative session completely blew apart any semblance of balance between State and local government with numerous instances of state preemption restricting government at the local level from addressing issues such as public health and welfare, agricultural sustainability, to affordable housing (HB 259).   What’s very concerning is that this infringement on local authorities stems from corporate interests. 

Overcrowding at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility (YCDF) has had a major impact upon the safety of our community and will continue to do so until a much larger facility is built.  This issue has been a major community concern for YEARS.   Individuals arrested on felony offenses are taken to YCDF but due to lack of space, they are simply released with Notices to Appear (NTA).  Further, nearly half of the individuals arrested on felony offenses already have at least one previous felony offense pending, and the continued release of repeat felony offenders back into the community further burdens the criminal justice system by compounding additional felony charges.  Addressing issues of homelessness, mental health, and addiction are some first steps in improving public safety.

The Clearwater Wind Project is nearing completion in eastern Montana, producing enough electricity to power about 135,000 homes with the harnessed electricity sent to a substation in Colstrip.  However, the energy generated from this Montana wind farm was purchased by Puget Sound Energy in Washington State.  Montana will reap some benefits from the wind farm in the form of property tax and land payments, along with an economic boost to the local economy from all of the laborers working on the project.  I would like to see a portion of this generated energy serving Montanans versus being sent out of State.  I am unfamiliar with whether or not subsequent phases of the wind farm will provide local electricity to Montana.  Lastly, I would like to see continued interest in pursuing options such as micro and modular nuclear reactors, with small modular reactors having the most potential to be a future baseload 24/7 power source, generating commercially available power.

No, I don’t believe additional revenue should be returned to the areas that generated it as approximately 75% of the collected tax goes into the State general fund for programs and uses that benefit all Montanans.  One example is a portion of the collected tax is utilized by Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks for maintenance of state parks facilities.

I would be in favor of a local option tax but concerned how that may negatively affect those living on low-incomes.  Those communities who do collect a resort or local option tax utilize the generated revenue for local infrastructure projects such as street improvements, implementing trails projects, tax relief, transportation system improvements, along with funding for public health, safety and improvements and upgrades to water and wastewater systems. 

This goes back to my previous answer regarding local control and the many state preemptive bills that stymied local governments efforts to address the housing crisis.  Repealing House Bill 259 would be a start as it stripped away from local governments the ability to implement inclusionary zoning which would require new housing projects to provide some affordable housing.  Also, building in higher density with smaller lots utilizing infill land/lots.  Reviewing and improving regulatory barriers such as speeding up the timeline for plan approvals both at the local and state (DEQ) level.