Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.

 

18 November 2014

Jim Keane takes aim at PowerPoint presentations — again

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Is it possible that State Senator Jim Keane (D-Butte) doesn’t like PowerPoint presentations? That’s not an unreasonable interpretation of his request for a bill with the short title of Assess a fee for PowerPoint presentations.

Or is he just trying to raise money? In the 2013 legislative session, he requested a bill with a similar title, Assess a fee for PowerPoint presentations to fund retirement system:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Electronic visual presentation to legislative body or committee prohibited without payment of fee.

  1. An individual may not make a slide or other electronic visual presentation to the house or senate or to a standing or interim committee of the legislature unless a fee is paid as provided in this section by the individual intending to make the presentation.

  2. The fee is in the amount of $250 for a presentation of up to 5 minutes in length and $500 for a presentation of more than 5 minutes in length. The presiding officer of the body or committee before whom the presentation is to be made may, in the presiding officer’s discretion, waive the fee required by this section.

  3. The fee required by subsection (1) must be deposited in the state special revenue fund and must be appropriated to the pension trust funds established in 19-2-501.

  4. This section does not apply to a presentation made by a member of the legislature or a member of the staff of the legislature or to a presentation required by the house or senate or by a standing or interim committee of the legislature.

  5. The house and senate may adopt rules, and the legislative council and the public employees’ retirement board may adopt rules of procedure to implement this section.

That bill died in process. How did it die? Because he didn’t introduce it:

Per Joint Rule 40-50(2); Failure to introduce a bill within 2 legislative days of delivery results in the draft being canceled

That’s right. He wasted valuable staff time to indulge his irritation with PowerPoint presentations. Some might call it a petty abuse of power.

Still, Keane’s not wrong if he doubts that PowerPoint is the greatest advance in communications since the invention of language. PowerPoint encourages thinking in bullet points instead of complete sentences. See Edward Tufte.