The Montana Standard from Butte, Montana • 7

The Montana Standard, Butte, Tuesday, January 6, 1981 7 State officio Is take oaths Toll-free line gives legislative progress HELENA (AP) For the first time since Sept. 1, 1919, the membership of the Montana Supreme court increased by two Monday. The, new Frank Morrison, 42, and Fred Weber, 62, who were elected last -November, took their oaths of office and assumed the black robes of justices on the state's highest court. The swearing-in ceremonies followed shortly behind similar exercises for five other elected state officials State Auditor E.V. 'Sonny" Omholt, Attorney General Mike Gree-ly, Secretary of State Jim Waltermire, school Superintendent Ed Argenbright and Public Service Commissioner Howard Ellis, none of whom made any ceremonial comments.

Public Service Commissioners Gordon Bollinger, Thomas Schneider and John Driscoll chose to recite their oaths in separate ceremonies at PSC offices three blocks north of the Capitol. At the Supreme Court oath-taking, Chief Justice Frank Haswell, who along with Justice John Sheehy' signed oaths in private Monday morning, called the expansion of the court a milestone" in tl.e lives of the new justices and "a significant change" in Montana's judicial branch. The court began in 1899 with three members, was expanded to five in 1919 and now has seven members. Before a crowded courtroom and gallery of onlookers, Haswell said the expansion will improve the quality of life and protection of property in Montana. State Bar President Robert Corette of Butte said the expansion should help the court stay more current with its caseload.

Addressing the two new justices, Haswell said, "We look to each of you to add a new dimension to the court. The new justices were robed by Justice Daniel Shea after Justices John Con. ay Harrison and Gene Daly rendered brief biographical sketches on each. Haswell said elevation to the Supreme Court is "the highest professional honor" which citizens can bestow upon a lawyer. But Sheehy said told the new justices they will need the "hide of a hippopotamus" to ward of the inevitable criticism which will come.

He said Supreme Court opinions are not public relations tools and he advised the justices to simply "hunker down" when decisions are criticized. Morrison and Weber introduced their parents and families, including Frank Morrison former governor of line or simply call Persons wanting to talk to legislators should not use the toll-free line, but should call long-distance through the legislative switchboard, 449J48O0. Wilson and her staff also will have an information table in the rotunda on the second floor of the Capitol where House and Senate seating charts, hearing calendars and legislative rosters will be available. Also available will be a limited number of booklets listing home and Helena addresses and phone numbers for legislators and other information. Arrangements also" may be made there for tours of the Capitol.

Wilson said her goal is to "give the public as much access to the Legislature as possibly." i FRANK Long career ends for Frank Murray Schwinden says job a challenge HELENA (AP) Calling Montana "the last of what is best in America," Ted Schwinden assumed the office of governor shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. He pledged a government which will promote individual initiative and shed the role of "eternal benefactor." As the deep booming of a 19-gun salute faded outside the Capitol, Schwinden and Lt. Gov. George Turrhan recited their oaths during simple but dignified ceremonies in the Capitol Rotunda.

The oaths were administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Haswell before a huge crowd of dignitaries, government officials and citizens. "If Montana demands much from its people, it yields in return a sense of history and a vision of the future a future when we will still proudly proclaim Montana the last of what is best in America," Schwinden said in a brief inaugural address during the 20-minute ceremony. Schwinden, dressed in a dark blue business suit, said state government must reflect a mixture of independence and concern. "A democracy must not stifle individual initiative. A democracy must not stagger its citizens under the Taxes taking a front seat Standard State Bureau HELENA Montanans" who want information about the 1981 Legislature may call a toll-free number in Helena.

"We're not here to service the Legislature," said Katrina Wilson, who is in charge of the telephone service. "We're on the other end of it the constituents' end." Wilson, public information director for. the Legislature, said that by calling 1-800-332-3408. a citizen can learn the status of bills, the schedule for committee hearings or "anything anybody wants to know about the Legislature." The phone will be manned from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Saturday. Helena residents can either use the toll-free River bill to cause Standard State Bureau HELENA --A bill aimed at dismantling the state's Yellowstone River water 'reservation system is being drafted at the request of Rep. Tom Conroy, D-Hardin, who says he is doing it to raise the hackles of bureaucrats and environmentalists. Conroy said he placed the bill in drafting at the request of someone he won't name, and he said he doesn't want to discuss it until it's ready for introduction. The Hardin legislator said because of time constraints someone else may actually introduce the bill, but he is willing to carry it if necessary.

The Yellowstone system was created by the Legislature after it appeared large companies were on the ve-rge of buying up water rights in Eastern Montana. State officials say the plan gives priority to agriculture, cities and wilHHfp in riAriHino hour tho weight of over-regulation," By STEVE SHIRLEY Standard State Bureau HELENA--: After 24 years as secretary of state, venerable Frank Murray spent his last few minutes on the job Monday watching his successor Republican Jim being sworn in. going back to selling newspapers," the 73-year-old Democrat joked, referring to the work he did as a boy in Butte. "I really don't know" what I'm going Murray added. "But you'Vego't to be occupied something!" For the time being; that something will include some traveling.

Murray, who decided not to seek another term because of bad health, worked for state government almost half a century. Prior to being secretary of state, he-spent 14 years as clerk of the Supreme Court. He also was an aide to Gov. Roy Ayers and a liquor store vendor in Butte. In Murray's first attempt at state office, he lost to Sam Mitchell in the "Democratic primary for secretary of state in 1948.

It was his first and last loss. Four years later he was elected Supreme Court clerk. wi ma auuuiiiau auuu. "A democracy must not cast itself in the role of eternal benefactor destroying incentive in the process. A democracy must promote freedom, encourage dissent, and nurture individuality." Observing the ceremonies in front-row seats were now ex-Gov.

Tom Judge, a Democrat who was defeated in the 1980 primary election, and former Republican Gov. Tim Babcock. Schwinden said the next four years will be a time for new direction in Montana government "aime when innovation stimulates experienccflcT'enthusiasm replaces apathy. This administration will be mindful of our past, impatient with the present and anxious for the future." Turman, in his own inaugural speech, referred to the present day as "unsettled times," but said Montana is Inrtff-arnuaintpd with thnu Ho coiH murmminii Huap. 1 U'VlVVUllllg QUTtl Sitv is the "stuff nf arlvpntnrp anrl ha eairl I ho river should be shared with3161 industry.

The system Don Snow of. the allows only three new Environmental lawmakers ask resort tax Schwinden-Turman administration looks forward to a "working adventure with the people of Montana." Schwinden, characterized by Turman as a "man of the land," told the inaugural gathering, "Government, simply stated, exists to serve people we were taught that in elementary civics. But assertion and reality all too often are separated by a-ehasm of public-indifference or bureacratic arrogance a chasm that words cannot span and promises cannot bridge. "If America is to survive, and Montana to excel, we must develop a new attitude for the '80s a determination to return control of government to the people, before government overpowers the people it was designed to serve." Senate in no hurry to launch hearings he said, defining the theme expect anything explosive to come out of the panel's investigations. "By and large; nobody brings up anything," he said, "Very few have any problems." Story also said that he personally was pleased with most of Schwinden's appointees as department heads, and he doesn't expect them be rejected by the Senate.

He acknowledged, however, that he has heard some complaints about Gary Wicks, rhom Schwinden named as director of the Highway Department. Wicks, who once headed the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, opposed construction of Colstrip generating units 3 and 4, and has a reputation as an environmentalist. He presently is Utah director of the Bureau of Land' MURRAY Murray concedes his Irish name may have helped win some votes, but he attributes his longevity primarily to his efforts to provide good service and "sympathizing with the taxpayers." He said he learned about' providing good service when he was young and worked as a "left-handed waiter." "If they want a piece of' bread or butter -or' some water, you should be there Johnnyi-the-spot. said he thinks he left the secretary's office in good shape. "We cleaned it up pretty good." Murray, who was raised by his grandmother and dropped out of school after his freshman year, got into politics early.

"As a child I used to work for politicians peddling their literature. The other kids threw it down the outhouses. I actually delivered it." Despite his age'and health, Murray also found it tough to leave politics. Early last year he angrily threatened to seek reelection after Lonn Hoklin, an aide to Attorney General Mike Greely, said he would seek Murray's job. "Greely put him in the race," Murray said.

"The rule is, if you're working for another politician you shouldn't be running against someone else." adopt local option taxes. "They could be almost anything," Boylan said. "It could be a tax on. rooms, food, booze or even "a local sales tax." proposed at present their major source of revenue. And, he said, it would help pay for services, such as law enforcement, that tourists receive.

Waldron also contends that such a countywide tax would not hurt tourist 'trade. "A small percentage tax, even up to 10 percent, is not going to stop people from staying in a He expects hotel and motel owners to strongly oppose the proposal but he says they "won't be serving their best interests" by doing so. They, like other taxpayers, would benefit from lower property taxes or property taxes that would not rise as rapidly as they might without the motel and hotel tax. office Cumming said the fact that B.rown is a disabled veteran was an important 'factor in his decision to nominate him for the office. The vote for Brown was unanimous.

Brown graduated from high school at Stevensville, served in the Navy during World War II and retired from the service with a 30 percent disability. He graduated from the University of Montana Law School in 1950 and has practiced in Stevensville since then. He also has served the past 20 years as Stevensville city attorney. off comment 5 p.m.," said John Hanger, postal examiner at the city's main post office. He said the "no comment" policy came in the form of orders received Monday from the U.S.

Postal Service's national headquarters in Washington, D.C. The orders gave no reason for the news blackout. HELENA (AP) Income taxes would decline, inventory taxes would disappear but penalty for paying some taxes late would increase, under some of the tax legislation pending in the Montana Senate. Sen. Pat Goodover, R-Great Falls, is the sponsor of a pair of bills that would have the same net effect; Eliminating the 10-percent surcharge Montanans now pay on their income taxes.

One bill would repeal the tax all at once beginning Jan. 1, 1983. other would gradually eliminate the surcfiarge over a three-- year period. Freshman Sen. Roger Elliot, R-Columbia Falls, introduced bills to eliminate the tax on business inventories and to raise individual income tax exemptions from $800 to $1,000.

Eliminating the surcharge and raising the income tax exemption both were part of a pre-election Republican campaign pledge to pass major, tax cuts if given control of the Legislature. The -Republicans-wen1nirTo capture the House and tighten their grip on the Senate, giving them an excellent chance to make good on those promises. Sen. Steve Brown, D-Helena, submitted a bill spawned by this era of sky-high interest rates. Brown wants to boost the penalty for paying property taxes late, from 8 percent to 12 percent a year.

At a time when securities are paying interest rates, experts say taxpayers are tempted to pay their taxes late because they can pay a penalty and still make a profit. TWO BILLS are designed to make financial Life easier for senior citizens. One by Brown would relief elderly Montanans from having to apply each year for a special property tax break. Once granted, the tax would remain in effect unless the taxpayer became ineligible. The other bill, by Sen.

William Hafferman, D-Libby, would extend a tax exemption to senior citizen Demos look Standard State Bureau HELENA Montana Democrats have started a campaign to regain control of the Legislature in 1982. "We started yesterday on the programs we need to turn this around two years from now," the party's executive secretary, Phil Tawney, said Monday. Tawney was referring to a workshop the Democratic Central Committee held Sunday to offer tips to legislators particularly the new ones on doing their work. "The thing we tried to point out is that being a good legislator is good for your constituents and the best way to get reelected," he said. centers that now don't qualify because they were not operating before Jan.

1, 1976. Hafferman said the bill is a response to complaints in Troy, where a center pays taxes while organizations in Libby and Eureka do not. A bill that could make major changes in the way state government is financed came from Senate Minority WhipWilliam Norman-f" D-Missoula. JNorman proposes to have the Legislature periodically review all the "earmarked" revenue funds that, come from some sources and automatically go to certain spending programs. For example, money from a tax on cigarettes goes to the state's long-term building program Norman would apply a "sunset" procedure to earmarking.

Any eamarked program that is not renewed by the Legislature would lose its special status, having to compete with other programs for money from the general fund. Gallatin HELENA A pair of Gallatin County legislators are planning to introduce a "resort tax" that would allow towns like West Yellowstone to adopt almost any type of local option tax to pay for hosting tourists. The bill is in drafting at the request of Rep. Bob El-lerd, R-Bozeman. And, Sen.

Paul Boylan, D-Bozeman, says he will be a co-signer when the measure reaches the Senate. Both men represent districts that include the town of West Yellowstone. And, West Yellowstone has done a study showing there is no way regular property taxes can provide enough money in the future to cover the cost of hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. "They came to us for an endorsement and said they were planning to do their own lobbying," Boylan said. "But, we told them to 1982 Tawney's party lost control of the Montana House in the general election- for the first time in 28 years.

Republicans have a 57-43 majority in the House and 29-21 majority in the Senate. Tawney said about 25 legislators attended the workshop. Gov. Ted Schwinden explained how lawmakers can work with his office, and five Democratic legislative leaders offered advice on how to be effective. The workshop also featured tips on getting help from party headquarters, working with the press, doing issue research and planning for the session.

federal dams and recon- Boylan said the fine points of administration haven't been worked out, but the Montana League of Cities and Towns has indicated it would like to see the legislation approved for all Montana cities. Dan Mizner, executive director for the league, said West Yellowstone and other resort areas aren't the only ones with financial problems. He said the league is introducing its own legislation to give local governments the option of creating new taxes, and it will probably be up to the legislative committees to decide if it should be combined with the Ellerd-Boylan bill. "We will probably support what they are trying to do from the standpoint of: If it is good for them, why isn't it good for the larger cities as well," Mizner said. certain uproar struction of the state-owned Tongue River Dam.

Late last year Big Timber rancher Norm Starr said he was part of a group of ranchers seeking a sponsor for legislation that would overturn the reservation system. Starr, who is a member of the Environmental Quality Council, said the reservation system amounts to over planning that actully jeopardizes Montana's claim, to the water. Starr could not be reached for comment Monday. But in Helena, Patrick Sweeney of the Northern Plains Resources Council said many ranchers in Eastern Montana support the reservation system. Sweeney said he isn't worried about the bill because, "I don' think it will go anywhere." He added that if the system is changed now, it could undermine state efforts to resist federal claims on the Information Center said he wonders it is working with industry rather than ranchers in trying to break the reservation system.

Youth shot HELENA (AP) Mike McKnight, 14, Helena, was reported in stable condition with a gunshot wound in the throat following an apparent shooting accident on Mount Ascension. Statements from witnesses to the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Department said the pistol Mike was carrying fell from its holster and discharged while the teenager was scrambling over rocks. Two other youthful companions told officials they carried their injured friend until they encountered a motorcyclist who took Mike to a hospital. The accident occurred in the hills south of Helena, just inside the Jefferson County boundary, and officials in Boulder, were investigating Ph. 792-2900 AVARAM tUT NOT NKISSAlf Ph.

117-000 Standard State Bureau HELENA The Montana Senate won't start confirmation proceedings on Gov. Ted Schwinden's appointees until later in the session, the chairman of the Senate Adminstration Committee said Monday. Sen. Pete Story, R-Emigrant, said his committee will consider Schwinden's appointees after finishing work on Senate legislation, which must be acted on by a deadline several weeks into the session. "We'll do it exactly like it's been done in the past," he said.

Story said members of his committee will each be assigned a certain number of appointees to departments and boards to look into their backgrounds. "We're not a rubber stamp he said. "We'll take a close look at these people." Still, Story doesn't really introducing this bill would be a better idea." The legislation would give West Yellowstone and all towns under 10,000 population the authority to Motel tax Standard State Bureau HELENA Occupants of hotel and motel rooms may find themselves paying a new tax if the Legislature approves a bill being prepared by a Missoula Democrat. Rep. Steve Waldron's measure would allow local governments to levy a tax on hotel and motel occupancy as a percentage of the cost of the room.

He said Monday the tax would apply throughout a county and could be levied only if the county commissioners and the cities and towns voted to impose it. The revenue would be shared by the cities and the county. Waldron said the tax would allow local governments to decrease reliance.on property taxes, Attorney takes HAMILTON (AP) Robert Brown of Stevensville was sworn in Monday afternoon as the new Ravalli County attorney. He replaces Douglas Harkin who was elected as a new judge for the Fourth Judicial District. Brown, one of three candidates for the post, was chosen by the Ravalli County commissioners Monday.

The other candidates were Deputy County Attorney Margaret Tonon and Harrison lawyer John Robinson. Commissioner Hugh Postal officials seal MISSOULA (AP) -Missoula postal officials Monday had an adamant "no comment" when asked how the second military draft registration period was going. Monday was the opening day of registration. "All you can put down is that we're open for registration from 8 a.m. to Medicare 'B' payments made by persons receiving Social Security benefits are deductible.

True False For older persons on a fixed income, Block has the right answer to this and other questions regarding special tax credits and deductions for those taxpayers. If you itemize, the answer is TRUE Because these payments are simply withheld from benefit checks during the year, they are often overlooked at tax time. WFU MAKE THE TAX LAWS WORK FOR YOU PiPISGHJHiOTRE FOX I j2Lr 31 WEST PARK 723 SS II BLOCK THE INCOME TAX PEOPLE rower Behind WJn II The Throne (SwV 111 II 'imhiA I Mil BUTTE (PG) Clint Clyde art back! ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN 1810 Harrison Ave. WHKDAVS-SAT. -5 APPOINT HUNTS MB LOOM UVWMttTOM UUCONM 11 tbk ST.

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