Is a state law needed on the online sales of stolen goods now that there is a federal one?
State Director Ronda Wiggers reports from Helena on the small-business agenda for the legislative and political week ending January 27
When a legislative proposal is going to affect the state budget, by either spending money or decreasing revenue, it must also pass through the Appropriations Committee in the House and the Finance & Claims Committee in the Senate.
The policy of the legislation is not discussed in these hearings, only the fiscal note. Proponents will often argue that the benefit to Montana citizens is greater than the cost to the state. In their fiscal hearings this week, this is the argument that NFIB offered in support of House Bill 212, which would reduce the Business Equipment Tax; House Bill 245, which would expand the tax credit for trade education; and Senate Bill 95, which would revise theft laws.
Hearings of interest to small business this week (January 30-February 3
- Thursday— 8:30 (H) B&L HB 201 Revise minimum wage laws
A proposal to increase the Montana minimum wage to $11.39 per hour and eliminate the $4 minimum wage for businesses that gross less than $110,000 per year.— 8:30 (S) B&L SB 216 Revise laws related to litigation and products
A tort reform bill being brought forward, that, among other things, attempts to protect retailers from product liability if they did not alter, assemble or manufacture the product and had no way of knowing there could be a defect or unsafe condition.
Bills NFIB is monitoring
- HB 161 Generally revise computer crimes
This bill adds substantial language to the crime of unlawful use of a computer to update the statute. It has passed the House on a final vote of 74 – 25 and is now headed to the Senate to continue its journey through the process.
- HB 212 Increase business equipment tax exemption
Passed the House Taxation Committee and was heard last Monday in the Appropriations committee to determine the fiscal impact to the state budget. The bill proposes to increase the amount of business equipment that is exempt from the tax from $300,000 to $1 million.
- SB 22 Revise independent contractor laws
NFIB offered support for the amendments to this bill. The intent is to clarify that if a business did all the right things to determine that they were hiring an IC to do work, and that IC status expired for some reason, the business would not be liable for employment taxes and workers’ compensation.
- SB 24 Require corporations to file electronic income tax returns
Passed the Senate with some of the amendments requested by NFIB and the CPA’s. We will continue to work on details during its House hearings.
- SB 95 Generally revise theft laws
The measure, which addresses theft and bad checks, was heard in the Senate Finance & Claims Committee but it has not acted on it. Corrections added a pretty hefty fiscal note to prosecute and offer public defenders. NFIB argued that either we go back to the previous law and the state pays for prosecuting theft or small businesses, and in turn, their customers, pay for the theft. One method should decrease the amount of petty theft and bad checks, the other encourages the behavior.
- SB 121 Reduce top marginal income tax rate and increase the EITC
The bill passed out of the Senate Tax Committee on a party line vote, resisted four attempts to amend on the Senate floor, and then passed the Senate on second reading on the expected party line vote. It has been referred to Finance & Claims to review the fiscal note. As I mentioned last week, it is likely these large tax and rebate bills will stall a bit in both Finance & Claims and Appropriations in order to make sure that they all work together and balance.
- SB 146 Revise laws relating to wage transparency
The proposal remains in the Senate Business & Labor Committee where it hasn’t been acted on.
- LC 172 Generally revise online commerce law
This legislation is an attempt to thwart those that shoplift merchandise and then sell it online. This bill defines a “third party seller” as someone who sells online who is NOT a wholesaler for the marketplace platform and/or does NOT disclose their business address and contact information to the general public. If the “third party seller” sells over $20,000 in merchandise in one year, the platform operator is required to obtain information to determine who they are, where they are located and where they bank. The contact information must be disclosed to the public at that time. If the seller refuses to disclose this information, they are to be blocked on the marketplace platform.
Pro – the increase in shoplifting has hurt many businesses and online marketplaces make it easy for shoplifters to sell their goods.
Con – this will likely result in an extra step of paperwork for legitimate businesses wanting to market online and those who are stealing will simply create numerous fake business names to keep all of them under $20,000 in sales.
This issue has been addressed with federal legislation that was signed by President Biden in December. Rules have not been promulgated, so we do not yet know what this will require of small-business owners. We will suggest to the sponsor that he may want to wait on the federal regulations prior to creating special law in Montana.
- LC 1002 Prohibit employee termination for legal social media posts
This bill is in executive review and pretty much does exactly as the title says. This only applies to personal social media accounts, not those intended for business related purposes. The ability to terminate if an employee uses social media to disclose trade secrets, releases proprietary, confidential or financial data, or conducts criminal defamation remains in the law.
- LC 3930 Create a mini-COBRA law for small employer health insurance plan
As the title states, this creates the requirement for businesses with less than 20 employees to offer insurance coverage for 18 months – longer in some specific cases – for terminated employees. As with COBRA, the employee is obligated to pay the premium.
This link will take you to the list of bills NFIB is watching. It is an active link that will automatically update as information changes. Once a bill is drafted, you can click on the link to read the text. As the bill moves through the process, you can track its progress and even watch the recordings of the hearings through this page.
Previous Weekly Reports and Related Information
- January 13—UI Theft and Penalties Bill Passes House
- January 4—Small Business Day in Helena, January 18
Photo snip courtesy of the Montana State Legislature website
