Speeches

Remarks of Governor Judy Martz
Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants
Great Falls, Montana - Unveiling Business Montana
June 21, 2001 -- 10:00 AM

I thank you so much for the opportunity to join you here today. In a few minutes, I'm going to be making an important announcement that I am happy to be sharing with you.

I don't have to tell you that Certified Public Accountants are the mainstay of Montana communities. CPA's are an important part of every single community in this state.

Any businessperson can tell you that his or her CPA are a crucial member of their team - an important part of their success. And I speak from experience. I know that my husband and I in our business have relied heavily on our CPA through the years with Martz Disposal.

So I'd like to just take a moment to thank you for the work that you do and the investments that you make in Montana communities - large and small.

I understand that as a group you have undertaken the objective of getting involved with improving Montana's economy. Because of that interest, I've chosen to talk to you today about just that subject which is so near and dear to my heart - economic development.

I'd like to start by making an important announcement then I want to spend just a few minutes talking about what we're doing from my office with the things that impact economic development the most - job development, education, tax reform and energy.

To start down that road toward our new bold agenda, I am happy to unveil to you today a program that no one else in the state has seen yet. I'm pleased to have the Montana Society of CPA's be the first to preview it today.

This program will be launching our new economic development office. We've called it "Business Montana". It's a coordinated promotional campaign to target prospective companies to choose Montana as the place they want to call home.

First, of all, let's unveil the overall look of the program. I've asked Mark Simonich, my director of the Department of Commerce, to reveal our new trade show booth.

This new booth carries the logo and image of the new promotional campaign that we have put together to attract more business to Montana. In just a few minutes, I'll talk about the other components of this campaign. But first, let's "talk turkey" about improving our economy.

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 down that road!

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.

We'll accomplish our objectives 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.

We're already working on hiring the leader for that office. As you may have read, we received over 225 applications for the Chief Business Officer who will help develop and implement a long-term economic strategy for Montana.

My staff has narrowed that list of applicants down to 25 individuals. In the next couple weeks, I'll be interviewing the top 5 candidates from which we'll make our selection.

You make no mistake, I am so serious about job creation and economic growth that I'm making sure the responsibility lies directly at my feet. 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.

Our state does not necessarily have a negative image -- rather it is lacking much of any image at all. We are simply not on the radar screens of corporations or consultants involved in business expansion and relocation. That's not acceptable.

Believe me, we're going to make that problem a problem of the past.

To do this, we need to put Montana "on the business map", and turn the state's image as a vacation destination into an equally recognized business location.

We can nolonger drift aimlessly in building our economy. We must develop a specific strategic plan that will create the entrepreneurial climate that will keep our kids living in Montana, working and raising families.

I don't know about you, but there is nothing worse I can imagine than watching my children hop the first plane, train or automobile out of Montana to find a good job.

Our new approach cannot be just about Montana's image. It will be mostly about action. There are several areas we need to work on. Taxes is an important area.

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 which stall growth. You better be certain that by the time I face voters again, they'll be keeping more of what they earn in their pockets.

But we cannot just stop with tax reform. To attract the job creators of the new economy, we must make sure we have a trained workforce. We'll be working on several initiatives in the area of education. Education is so important in our attracting new companies and new jobs.

I am going to go to the next legislative session with a new funding formula for Montana schools - and I'm developing a plan to help our technical schools receive a greater share of the $1.2 billion we spend on education in Montana.

We have great schools - and we're producing excellent students. Now, we have to make sure to craft curriculums at all levels to match the needs of job creators in the 21st century.

In addition to transitioning to the "new economy", I remain committed to our traditional economic sectors like resource development, timber harvest, mining and manufacturing.

We can't forget the roots of this great state.

Each is important to a healthy Montana economy. So too is one other area that we can't forget today. And that's affordable, reliable energy.

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.

Our nation's energy supply shortage and inadequate transmission confirm that our history of regulation has camouflaged our actual energy demands under the disguise of price controls.

Without incentives to invest and build generation plants, energy suppliers chose not to. In fact, studies suggest that to meet demand the United States must construct nineteen hundred generation facilities over the next twenty years.

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

Recent regional newspaper articles have pointed out that our fully regulated neighbors are seeing increases of anywhere from 40 to 96 percent in Idaho and in some cases 300 percent in Wyoming.

Those increases are on top of gradual power rate increases over the last five years, while Montana Power customers have had their rates frozen since 1997.

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 can and 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.

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.

Today, you've seen one aspect of our new promotional campaign for "Business Montana". This is where we're starting. Let me show you a few other parts of this project.

Mark, will you please distribute our new brochures? These brochures and various other items will be used at trade shows and in targeted mailings to improve the image of Montana as a business friendly environment.

We want an office and the marketing materials that project an image of Montana as an attractive and economically viable location for high-tech, light-manufacturing, value-added and progressive agriculture businesses.

The same logo, look, feel, image and voice are woven through the core printed materials as well as through the state's business recruitment website.

While Mark is handing out our new brochures, I also want to just spend a few minutes showing you our new website. I've invited Carl Kochman from Wendt-Kochman Advertising to briefly demonstrate our new presence on the Internet.

Before I turn over the podium to Carl, I just want to thank you so very much for inviting me to visit with you today.

And I want to congratulate you and thank you for taking the interest in becoming involved with improving the economy of this great state of ours. 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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