Tempers Shortening as Montana Legislature Nears Adjournment

Infrastructure funding, gas tax increase, state budget still to be decided

NFIB/Montana State Director Riley Johnson reports from Helena on the small-business agenda for the legislative week ending April 7.

As of March 7, there are 16 days left in the legal 90-day legislative session. The tempers are getting short, and the rhetoric is getting louder and more pungent.

The days of dog-and-cat bills being heard in committees are over. What was heard in committees this week were the meat-and-potato bills that are keeping the lawmakers from ending the four-month legislature.

Two measures heard March 7 included Senate Bill 367, the last remaining effort to address statewide infrastructure financing, and House Bill 473, the infamous gas tax increase. No action was taken on either bill, but the House and Senate will take executive action next week, and they will hit the floors of the two houses shortly thereafter.

Infrastructure Funding

The infrastructure bill, SB 367, by Sen. Eric Moore (R) of Miles City, would issue nearly $100 million in bonding authority, along with some cash from the general fund. If revenues over the next two years would be more than expected, the bonding would be lowered and more cash used to fund infrastructure maintenance and rebuilding across the entire state.

Infrastructure includes:

drinking and waste water projects
some public buildings
public safety that experts site as being antique, dilapidated, and sorely in need of work, particularly in smaller cities and rural counties.

Infrastructure funding was defeated in both the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions. It was obvious from vigorous proponent testimony that cities and counties were in support of SB 367 in the April 7 hearing. What will happen? There could be amendments adding content to the bill April 10, or amendments subtracting content from the bill. But most lawmakers and lobbyists roaming the halls of the Capitol building today are betting something will happen to fund infrastructure next week.

This bill received a big boost April 7 when the Gov. Steve Bullock’s budget director was the first proponent to reach the microphone and endorse the measure. That is a sign that not only will legislators probably pass a bill, but that the governor would sign it into law.

Gas Tax Increase

The gas tax bill, HB 473, had a packed house for its hearing in the Senate April 7, with, again supporters, from across the state extolling the benefits the measure would have on Montana’s ailing roads and bridges.

The House has already passed HB 473 on a 54-36 vote. Some $60 million would be expected to be raised from the bill, all of it going toward highway infrastructure statewide, to cities and counties for local projects, and to the Montana Highway Patrol for highway safety.

HB 473 would raise the gas tax paid at the pump by 8 cents a gallon. It would also raise the diesel tax by 7.75 cents per gallon. Both taxes would then total 35 cents, including the current taxes being paid by motorists. The governor has endorsed HB 473.

State Budget

The final piece of the legislative puzzle this week has been the budget. Republicans want to end the next biennium with a $200 million surplus. The governor wants an ending balance of $300 million.

What was helping to fund the surplus was a bill to raise taxes on all tobacco products. Cigarettes would be raised by $1.50 per pack. The bill all totaled was expected to raise some $30 million in new revenue. This bill survived the Senate on a 27-22 vote, and moved to the House.

Until this week, the revenue predictions by the House Taxation Committee were coming up short of the Legislature’s projection of $200 million ending fund balance. Thus the tobacco tax bill was kept alive.

Then the House Taxation Committee reported that new revenue estimates for the biennium had increased by some $100 million to cover the shortfall. Hours after passing the higher revenue estimate, the committee voted on party lines to kill the tobacco tax bill. The committee voted 12-8 to submit what’s called an “adverse committee report,” meaning that 60 of the 100 representatives would have to vote to bring the bill to the House floor, making it more difficult to blast this bill onto the House floor.

In other important action this week, the Senate endorsed its version of the 2018-2019 state budget. This is HB 2. The approximately $10.3 billion, two-year budget bill that passed the Senate with a 29-20 vote earlier in the week is higher than the bill passed on March 17 on a House vote of 58-40.

This means the House and Senate will have to meet in a conference committee and work out amendments, if the House does not accept the Senate’s version of HB 2 this coming week.

Get Involved

Getting involved in the 2017 Legislature is easy. The best way to have your voice heard quickly is to phone 406-444-4800. Operators are on hand in the Capitol Building to take messages for up to five legislators on each call, and delivery is within a half an hour.

More information on:

locating legislators
getting an e-mail address
viewing committee meetings and floor sessions on television or over the internet
review all hearings
reading of the actual bills …

… can go to www.leg.mt.gov and access everything electronically.

Previous Legislative Reports

March 31 Report—Attempt to Abolish Montana State Fund Defeated

March 24 Report—“I Get The Picture. Shut The Emails Down.”

March 17 Report—Local Property Tax Levy Coming up for Hearing

March 10 Report—NFIB to Fight 4 Percent Local Options Tax Proposal

March 3 Report—Montana Legislators Getting Down to Dollars and Cents

February 24 Report—Income Tax Proposals Stall; Gas Tax Increase Revving

February 17 Report—Slowest Session in 16 Years Has Not Slowed NFIB

February 10 Report—NFIB Helps Defeat Costly Workers’ Compensation Proposal

February 3 Report—Skirmish Over Funding Montana Legislature

January 27 Report—Montana Legislature Ponders Tax Credits for Startups