Speeches

Remarks of Governor Judy Martz
Montana Economic Development Summit
Great Falls, Montana
June 29, 2001 -- 9:00 AM

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I thank you so much for the opportunity to join you here today. And thank you for being here. You are fabric of this state - and we cannot lead Montana forward without your continued effort to seek solutions to our challenges.

We are all gathered here because we know that if Montana is to experience the growth we want and need - we must work as one Montana, united to the core.

Our rural heritage and our sense of community make us who we are - resilient, resourceful and determined people. We are in this together - and only together shall we overcome our challenges.

Last year as I traveled our Big Sky asking the citizens to place their trust in me, I told Montanans that by working together we would build new jobs - new futures - a new Montana.

Just a few short months in office, we are already making progress!

Our Jobs and Opportunities Initiative is a comprehensive strategy for applying our traditional values to build a new Montana.

Our vision for a new Montana is one that celebrates our rich and proud heritage, but that also recognizes the need for new industries, new markets and new opportunities.

Despite some setbacks, Montana's private sector is creating jobs. Our unemployment rate is the lowest in 22 years - and last year alone we created 10,500 new jobs. We must do more.

Working together, we will do more by continuing to make economic growth, education funding, energy development and tax reform our top priorities.

I want you to know that our most fundamental principle is that the people who are already in business here employing Montanans, paying taxes and contributing to their communities deserve a government that will remove barriers to business growth and expansion.

That's why the centerpiece of my economic plan is a comprehensive reorganization of the Department of Commerce with legislation we passed during this past Legislature.

The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity will be located directly in my office in the State Capitol. Its function is to promote and attract business expansion and to develop our workforce for better paying jobs.

As you may have read, we narrowed the search to four finalists for the Chief Business Officer who will help me develop and implement a long-term economic strategy for Montana.

I've invited representatives from business and labor - leaders like Tom Scott and Jerry Driscoll - to be a part of our interview team to make sure we get exactly the right individual for Montana.

I will not leave this office without making Montana a more business friendly place. In a study conducted by the Montana Ambassadors, our state came out dead last in being regarded as a place to do business. That has to change.

That's why I've implemented a new marketing campaign for "Business Montana". We have designed a marketing campaign that projects an image of Montana as an attractive and economically viable location for high-tech, light-manufacturing, value-added and progressive agriculture businesses.

We will put Montana "on the business map", and turn the state's image as a vacation destination into an equally recognized business location.

Our new approach cannot be just about Montana's image. It will be mostly about action. That is why you are here. Your ideas here will be included in Montana's strategic plan.

To get the ball rolling we have already begun drafting a specific strategic plan, with quantifiable goals and objectives, to create the entrepreneurial climate that will keep our kids living in Montana, working and raising families.

Over the last six weeks, we have been working with executives from associations that represent nearly every sector of Montana's economy to provide a framework a new business plan for Montana.

I am going to task our new Chief Business Officer with completing this job by having the business plan drafted and implemented by the fall of this year. I want both short-term and long-term objectives identified.

As you begin your deliberations with each other, here are some issues I believe deserve some focus.

We have to lower our income taxes. I have directed my Director of the Montana Department of Revenue to provide me with a series of major tax reform initiatives by October 1.

I want to lower the top marginal income tax rates that are bad for development and growth. We need a tax structure that gives Montanans the incentive to turn their ideas into jobs -- their visions into realities. Please work today and tomorrow to craft some ideas of your own.

I also want you to make education a priority in your discussions. We have great schools - and we're producing excellent students. But from here, we must craft curriculums at all levels to match the needs of job creators in the 21st century.

Frankly, it is not good enough that our budget dedicates over 55 percent of our general fund to education. Despite the fact that my budget invests $1.2 billion in education over the next two years, I want your ideas to do even more.

Next month, I'll name a new task force that will provide input on a new school funding formula by the first of the year. I am going to go to the next legislative session with a new funding formula for Montana schools.

Furthermore, by the spring of next year I will have a plan to help our technical schools receive greater focus.

Studies suggest that only 9.8 percent of the jobs in Montana's economy require a four-year degree. That's why I want vocational and technical education to receive our immediate attention.

Just look at the statistics. Of the 1999 graduates of UM-Montana Tech who responded to a survey, only 26 percent of the engineering graduates were employed in Montana.

But just across town at the Butte College of Technology, roughly 89 percent of the graduates had good paying jobs in Montana. We simply must provide our students with educations that match the needs of new economy job creators.

We have made technological advancement a priority in government and the private sector. We have reformed the Department of Administration to implement an aggressive E-Government initiative to change the way government delivers goods and services.

Imagine being able to get your drivers licenses, permits, car tags and tax refunds with the click of your mouse. Within 2 weeks my Director of Administration, Barb Ranf, will have on board Montana's first Chief Information officer who will partner with the private sector to make it a reality.

Furthermore, my new office of economic opportunity will have a technology expert who will help us create a strategic plan to attract high-tech jobs to Montana by removing government barriers and identifying broadband and infrastructure needs.

More important, I want Montana to become a testing ground and leader in the development of wireless technologies. I'll have somebody in place by August.

In addition to transitioning to the "new economy", I remain committed to our traditional economic sectors like agriculture, resource development, timber harvest, transportation and manufacturing. We cannot forget the roots of this great state.

We're on track with Vision 2005 - our plan for doubling the value of Montana agricultural products.

We're on track with the transfer of Otter Creek Tracts 1, 2 and 3 for the development of over 533 million tons of super-compliant coal.

We're on track to complete the EIS on the development of coal bed methane in Eastern Montana. The potential $4 billion positive impact to our economy, along with nearly $675 million for schools and services, is an enormous opportunity. We must push forward.

We're providing input on the 10-year national fire plan that will improve the health of our forests - while simultaneously creating good paying timber jobs.

We're pushing forward on the development of economic corridors. Just yesterday, I directed Dave Galt, my Director of Transportation, to conduct a study to determine the positive economic benefits across Montana of putting 4 lane highways where 2 lanes now exist. He'll have timelines for completion within several weeks.

As you can see -- we're moving forward. Today and tomorrow we need your ideas to do even more.

As you set about to make your contributions, please don't forget to include your ideas for energy development. Without affordable, reliable energy we cannot achieve our objectives.

All of us in the Western states are struggling to deal with an energy situation that has no easy answers.

While the California crisis has impacted the economic and political environment in the West - it has brought the need for market reforms, conservation, environmental protection and access to our nation's land to supply our need for fuels.

In every way, this crisis has been a wakeup call - a wakeup call that will allow us to work toward market driven solutions. And the only energy solution in my book is one that protects Montanans and Montana businesses with affordable power.

We are facing the harsh reality that without adequate generation capacity, power rates will rise.

Our challenge is to make sure that Montana customers, who are in a partially deregulated marketplace, are better protected than our regulated neighbors.

And therein lies the enormous opportunity for Montana. We can reverse the decades long movement away from the responsible development of our natural resources. Montana must rise to help meet the energy demands of our state and our nation.

We can compete. We can produce. And we can grow our economy in the process.

On Monday, I'll announce the 7 members of the Montana Power Authority who will partner with the private sector to issue up to $500 million in revenue bonds for the construction of up to 450 additional megawatts of power.

I want those facilities online in the next few years - and I will charge the power authority with having a strategic plan to accomplish that goal by early this fall.

Additionally, I meet with several investors nearly every week to explore exciting possibilities for Montana. We're going to get additional generation on line quickly and the private sector is going to be there to help. That I know for sure.

Please provide your input to include in our energy plan.

The world is a highly competitive environment these days. I think that we would all agree that Montana is a great place to live. Now our challenge is to prove that Montana is also a great place to do business.

I recognize as we all do, that change is inevitable. We have to be courageous enough to embrace change, not run from it.

We are prepared for a bold agenda. Our vision is to make our new Montana a better Montana by building on the traditional values that have always made us great.

We must be aggressive. And collectively we must send a message loud and clear, far and wide, that Montana is open for business.

Congratulations on being here to lead Montana forward. Thank you for taking the interest in becoming involved with improving the economy. Thank you for giving of your time and effort. We need you. I know that if we all roll up our sleeves and work together, we can make this a better place for all of us.

Thank you and God bless.

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