HOT POTATO

One of the stranger legislative sequences in a session becoming known
for its unorthodoxy occurred in the past week with the Senate bill to
impose strict regulation on the medical marijuana industry.

It had to do with which agency -- never the Department of Public Health
and Human Services -- should be charged with regulating the business.
The impression from afar was one of state agency personnel ducking
into dark corners and empty rooms to avoid being tagged with the new
responsibility.

The first version of the legislation put it under the Public Service
Commission, an elected five-member board that regulates gas and
electric utilities.

It was amended to Agriculture -- cannabis is a crop,
right?

Finally, it has landed in the Department of Labor and Industry, which
at least contains a grain of logic.

The bill passed the Senate and was transmitted to the House for
possible action in the event that a different bill repealing Montana's
medicinal marijuana law is vetoed by the governor.

What standard?

In truth, though, the medical pot series was no stranger than the
debate over a Republican lawmaker's bill to require Montana to back
certain of its transactions with gold, silver or equivalents.

One amendment proposed by aghast Democrats would have made the medium
of exchange coal -- certainly a more plentiful and stable commodity
than gold.

When that failed on a party-line vote, a second amendment converting
the state to a copper standard was floated, but it, too, was shot down.

Fortunately, also shot down was the proposal itself, by Rep. Bob
Wagner, R-Harrison. Incredibly, it came close, losing on a 52-48 vote.

Bumper sticker of the week

SUBURBIA: Where they tear out the trees and then name streets after
them

Spotted in a green Subaru Outback with Cascade County
plates.

Quote of the week

"In an economy where we're still searching for job growth, the last
thing we should do is discourage an industry that's helping to create
jobs. I think it's a job killer."

That's federal Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, talking about
congressional efforts to eliminate subsidies for ethanol production.

As a follow-up to President Obama's earlier call to reduce oil imports
by a third by 2025, Vilsack and two other cabinet members underscored
that message and stressed the administration's opposition to an effort
led by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn to eliminate the $6 billion ethanol
subsidy.

Number of the week: 2007

Some critics of the body of work coming out of the 62nd Montana
Legislature have suggested that many of the members' true goal is to
roll back the clock.

Now we have proof positive: The Senate Thursday gave preliminary
approval to a House-passed bill that would roll back the number of
archery elk tags issued in a bunch of hunting districts to the levels
of 2007 -- when there were no limits on the tags.

In an unsual move, however, the senators reversed themselves on third
reading and killed the legislation. Evidently the time-travel desire
is not unanimous.