there was any way that they could justify going along with the 30 percent 

 coal tax it was if it would be plowed back into these areas and make the 

 impacts less severe. If it's just going to become a tax relief program well 

 then I think that the justifiability of the 30 percent severance tax is in 

 jeopardy. 



Law enforcement is, of course, another problem that follows this type 

 of rapid growth. Our law enforcement budget in Rosebud County has 

 gone from $60,000 in 1974 to $800,000 presently, and it's not sufficient. 

 There are problems. 



Another logical impact has been the takeover of our rural political 

 institutions. There are several, and probably one of the most important is 

 the school board. Seven years ago all five members on the Colstrip School 

 Board were farmers or ranchers. There is one left today and I think his 

 term is probably going to be in jeopardy at the expiration of his present 

 term. 



The fourth concern in regard to impacts involves economics. We've 

 heard comments here today about the necessity to develop our resources to 

 continue to grow, provide jobs and a tax base and what-have-you. And 

 I'm sure we've seen this country proceed on this course for many, many 

 years, decades. The thing that alarms me is that wherever this has been 

 expounded to great degrees they have some of the most serious economic 

 problems in the world today. I am referring primarily to our large 

 industralized cities. This raises a red flag in my mind. I'm not sure I 

 know the real answers to their dilemmas, but I think that it would be 

 unfortunate if we allow Montana to eventually end up in this same state. 

 We do have an opportunity to benefit from others mistakes and I think it 

 would be terribly unfortunate if we don't do that. The tax situation is 

 always a controversial issue. The industry comes into a rural area that 

 has low mill levies and I am sure that this is one of the things that 

 attracts them there. The conservatism that existed prior to their interest 

 has kept taxes down for the most part. Rural people usually are able to 

 provide a lot of the services themselves that government is expected to 

 provide in other places. This is another area where new philosophies come 

 in and take over. People down there expect the government to provide 

 everything for them. If they don't get the government to do it, they run 

 to Western Energy or Peabody and try to get them to do it. I am sure my 

 friend John Larin in the back row will attest to that. And it becomes 

 quite a dilemma. At the same time they are cussing the growth and 

 bureaucracy in government and yet they are demanding more and more 

 services from them. 



As far as taxes are concerned there is a lull period, an interim 

 whereby the tax base that is created does not cover the incremental costs 

 of providing government services. There was a five-or six-year period 

 down there whereby our taxes increased to take care of the needed 

 services. It was unfortunate at the time the figures really did not 

 indicate that there was much impact, but this was about the time that we 

 were going through the reevaluation of land and livestock in the state and 

 my taxes doubled at this time and the mill levies went down. Now if your 

 not a student of the taxation law I'm not going to get involved in 



