Bill Controversy
Emma Reinhart
An initiative to include a health care referendum on the ballot for Tuesday’s vote has been instigated by three lobbyists from Gardiner. Austin Smith, Sam Welker, and Emma Mitchell have written up an initiative to repeal the necessity of any person or health care provider to participate in a health care system. The girls hope the bill will give persons and employers the right to buy lawful health care directly from a provider. To help clarify exactly what an initiative is, I quote the Youth in Government website in saying that it is a petition that “bypasses the legislature and goes to the people for a vote. Individual citizens can introduce an initiative to change a law or amend the Montana constitution.” As Austin phrased it, “An initiative, which is the purest way for the people, the actual electorate, to make government work for them.” So right now Austin is running around crusading her cause to anyone who has a spare second in an attempt to obtain 105 signatures by Tuesday. The last update we received was that she had 80. The motivation the lobbyists had for bringing such a controversial issue to Youth in Government was to see how the youth stands on an issue of such national importance. Also, because several states have passed referendums of similar natures, it will be interesting to see where a representation of Montana’s youth stands. So if you want the issue to at least be put to the test and added to the Youth in Government ballot, find that initiative paper and let our opinion be heard.
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