State already has CI-97 provision

Letter to the editor, Havre Daily News 10/11/06

Please vote against CI-97. Montana’s Constitution already has a balanced budget requirement preventing overspending. If we don’t like how our representatives vote on spending issues, we don’t have to re-elect them.

CI-97 would place a constitutional cap on all state general fund spending, limited to the combined rate of inflation and population growth. However, the cost of goods and services provided by state government rises more quickly than the consumer price index, which ensures the state would be incapable of meeting its needs.

Montana has excellent services for early intervention of children with disabilities and to assist their families through those key developmental years.

The state currently has a waiting list of more than 500 individuals who have “aged out” of children services and are waiting for a position to open for adult community services. These services include residential placement options, employment and training, day activity programs, and transportation.

The demands for services for the developmentally disabled, seniors, and children will exceed the limits imposed by CI-97. For example, where the general population is not expected to rise more than 15-18 percent over the next 30 years, the senior population will increase more than 100 percent.

Even if the State Supreme Court decertifies these initiatives, other such efforts will reappear as proposed legislation or future ballot measures. We must carefully study and analyze the full implications of such initiatives.

It would be tragic if Montana and its public services atrophy, just at the time when the state is beginning to prosper economically.

Charlie Briggs, director Montana Community Disability Services Association, Helena