Betsy Hands
Betsy Hands is a former Democratic member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing the 99th District from 2007 to 2013. In the 2011-2012 session, Hands served as the Minority Caucus Leader.[1]
Hands' professional experience includes working at homeWORD and as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Hands earned her B.A. in social science from the University of Michigan.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hands served on these committees:
- Natural Resources, Vice Chair
- Rules
- State Administration
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hands served on these committees:
- Local Government, Vice Chair
- Natural Resources
- State Administration
Issues
Soda pop tax
In December 2010, Hands started drafting a bill that would tax soda and other sugary drinks in an attempt to help offset rising state spending on health care. She said such a tax could generate about $100 million according to preliminary revenue estimates.
Hands said it was likely to be collected from distributors instead of retailers, and that the health risk link between soda and obesity and diabetes contributed to rising costs for items like Medicaid and Medicare.
“To be able to offset the cost of that (with a tax on soft drinks) seems like a fair thing,” she said.[2]
Elections
2010
On November 2, 2010, Hands won election to the Montana House of Representatives. She did not have any opposition in the June 8 primary. Brian David Barnett ran for the seat on the Democratic ticket and Kandi Matthew-Jenkins ran for the Constitution Party. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
| Montana House of Representatives, District 99 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Betsy Hands (D)
|
1,946 | |||
| Brian David Barnett (R) | 1,168 | |||
| Kandi Matthew-Jenkins (C) | 290 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Betsy Hands won the seat to the Montana House of Representatives for District 99 receiving 4,026 votes.
Hands raised $4,638 for her campaign.[3]
| Montana House of Representatives, District 99 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Betsy Hands (D)
|
4,026 | |||
| Jedediah Delmeire Cox (R) | 1,512 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Betsy + Hands + Montana + Legislature
External links
- Montana House of Representatives - Rep. Betsy Hands
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2010, 2008, 2006
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana House of Representatives District 99 2007–2013 |
Succeeded by Kimberly Dudik (D) |
