Legislators meet with residents

Local legislators met with Sanders County Commissioners and residents to issue a legislative update and address concerns regarding bills each representative has been working on and introduced to the house floor. Sen. Bob Brown, Rep. Denley Loge, House District 14 and Rep. Paul Fielder, House District 13, fielded questions from around 20 Sanders County residents. Legislators answered questions on a number of house bills for one hour Thursday at the Sanders County Courthouse. Fielder spoke about House Bill 114 he introduced in which he states law enforcement could not be removed from office or face legal penalties if they refuse to enforce public health orders. “That’s a bill I introduced to protect our local law enforcement officers,” Fielder said.

Resident Mindy Ferrell asked legislators what has come out of this legislative session that has helped working families in Sanders County and how each legislator feels they have done this session. “I appreciate that all of you ran on platforms that supported jobs, the economy, and working families in Sanders County,” Ferrell said. “I think we’ve done really well,” Brown stated. “I never approach the session as what I did, I approach it as what we are accomplishing.” Brown referenced Senate Bill 65 which limits liability for business owners if a customer is exposed to COVID-19. “It gave businesses ground to stand on if they were to be sued. With SB 65, it set some standards that allowed businesses to operate,” Brown said.

Loge referenced the timber mill in St. Regis as his talking point. The representative says bringing in outside investors to boost the economy will create jobs. “Tourism creates a minimum wage job,” Loge stated. “If you can get stimulus to get outside investors to come in, that will create those higher paying jobs for residents.”

Fielder spoke about his working relationship with the Good Neighbor Authority, a program which accelerates forest restoration and management. Working with the program, Fielder believes it will lead to more jobs and help for the timber industry in the county.