Building success at the Montana Legislature

By Representative John Fitzpatrick

Published in the Anaconda Leader

February 6, 2026

When elected to the Legislature in 2022, my assignment was to the House Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee F which reviews the State Capitol Building Program and several additional bills that provide grants and loans to units of local government and non-profit entities for water, wastewater, irrigation, county bridges, cultural and arts programs, and historic preservation projects (House Bills 5 through 12). These bills are funded through state savings accounts and trust fund accounts. It was an assignment that allowed me to focus on the welfare of five major state facilities and 2,550 state employees located in Southwestern Montana.

The task of an elected legislator is to represent their constituent’s and pass legislation that benefits the district.

In 2025, I became Chairman of the Subcommittee and successfully passed 19 pieces of legislation, ranking me 5th for legislative effectiveness.  

Capital projects take a fairly long time to develop and complete but some efforts are coming to fruition.

In 2023, I amended HB 2, the State Budget Act, to include funds for the expansion of the START Correctional Program near Anaconda. The expansion was completed in October 2025, added 68 new beds, and created 33 new jobs in the Deer Lodge Valley. State-wide our Correctional system is grossly overcrowded and there are roughly 400 state inmates locked up in county jails.  

In 2023, I also sponsored HB 817, the Prison Construction Bill, which contained over $200 million to repair and expand the Prison. Thus far, five roofs have been replaced, a water line into Unit F was repaired allowing its re-occupancy by inmates, alleviating overcrowding on the main campus, security enhancements have been made on the perimeter fence, and repairs to the locking mechanisms in the maximum-security units are underway, vital to staff safety.  

Three new housing units with a capacity for 768 inmates are about 25% complete. When finished, each unit will create up to 30 new jobs in Deer Lodge.  

HB 817 also contained funds for the construction of 28 units of workforce housing in Deer Lodge, of which 21 units are finished and occupied. 

The City of Deer Lodge received a Historic Preservation Grant to replace the windows in City Hall and the project is complete. The Copper Village Arts Center also received a grant to construct a fire escape tower, also completed.  Historic Preservation funds were used to install a ceiling in the Montanan. The Anaconda Elks Club, Anaconda’s “civic center,” hosting over 200 events and 8,000 people per year received Historic Preservation Funds to up-grade its electrical wiring. The project is about 35% complete and was necessary for safety because of previous electrical fires.  

Powell County received three Reclamation and Development Grants to remediate the Milwaukee Railroad Depot area and do some reclamation on the Little Blackfoot River near Avon.

Other important legislation funded around $18 million in ag water projects in Granite County.  The State share of a $17.5 million loan issued in 2023 for repairs to East Fork Dam has already been repaid. Philipsburg also completed the up-grade to its wastewater treatment plant.  Supporting passage of the State Debt and Liability Free Account allowed for funds to be used to repay loans and all of the state’s general obligation debt. Montana is the only state in the country so blessed.  

Finally, and contrary to the misrepresentations of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a dark money group from Virginia which seems to specialize in dishonesty, the state budget only increased by 0.7%. That growth figure was calculated as provided in Section 17-7-151 of State law. AFP is trying to claim that money transferred into state savings accounts and trust funds is actually state spending. Really? Montana is on a very sound fiscal basis and I am proud of this  conservative approach to serve the constituents of HD 76. 

Rep. John Fitzpatrick is a Republican from Anaconda representing House District 76.