State Director Ronda Wiggers reports from Helena on the legislative and political week ending February 7

As you may have seen in the press, the Senate spent much of this week focused on the ethics hearings and then the floor fight on Thursday. As it does not appear that the attorney general has any jurisdiction over legislative ethics, unless the county attorney presses criminal charges, it seems Sen. Jason Ellsworth will not have any consequences for his actions.

The anger in the building has created an atmosphere where very little is getting accomplished in the Senate. The House is progressing as normal, but the disruption is likely to spill over soon.

Review of the Past Week

House Bill 302 Revising punitive damages laws and procedures
House Bill 303 Revise and clarify the law regarding appointment of fault
HB 302 would require more evidence in order to award punitive damages, and  HB 303 would revise and clarify the law regarding apportionment of fault, which makes it clear that a party that has previously settled can still be determined to be at fault. Both bills were heard in the House Judiciary Committee. These tort reform bills were both sponsored by Rep. Anthony Nicastro and passed out of the committee on party line votes. They will likely be debated on the House floor this week.

HB 337 Revise income tax laws to lower income taxes
Sponsored by House Speaker Brandon Ler, HB 337 was heard in the House Tax Committee on Wednesday (February 5). This is an alternative to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s income tax reduction proposal. Currently, on a joint return, Montana income is taxed at 4.7% up to $41,000 and then 5.9% on everything in excess. This bill proposes to apply the 4.7% rate on all income up to $140,000 and then assess 5.65% on income in excess. It makes the corresponding changes to individual, head of household rates and changes net, long-term capital gains rates as well. NFIB monitored this bill, which had no proponents or opponents. The committee will likely hold this bill until all of the different proposals have been heard.

HB 131 Revise duration of Unemployment Insurance Benefits
Sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, HB 131 lowers the number of weeks that a person can collect unemployment from 24 weeks to 20 weeks. The bill has been amended to allow for 24 weeks of UI for those that are ‘job attached’ or ‘union attached’. This addresses the concerns of the road construction contractors that felt they may lose employees if the UI did not cover their down time, which is dictated by the state transportation department. This passed the full House floor debate (second reading) on a vote of 56-44. Two Republicans, Valerie Moore and Gary Parry, joined the Democrats in opposing the measure. The bill will now head to the Appropriations Committee, because it reduces state expenditures by over $5 million per year and needs to be included in the budget. NFIB supports this bill.

HB 210 Revise laws relating to Unemployment Insurance Program Collection Rates
Sponsored by Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, HB 210 was approved by the Appropriations Committee and passed the House floor unanimously. It has been transmitted over to the Senate. This bill will create a lower tier of UI premiums. Currently, Montana is in the lowest schedule allowed by law and the fund is actuarily sound. Just reducing what is paid out does not reduce premiums. This bill is projected to reduce premiums by $38 million over the biennium.  NFIB supported this bill.

Senate Bill 143 Generally revise civil liability laws relating to statutes of limitations for certain actions
Sponsored by Sen. Greg Hertz, SB 143 was heard in Senate Local Government Committee on Wednesday (February 5). This bill is a tort reform proposal to reduce the statute of limitations for work done on improvements to real property from eight and 10 years to six years.  NFIB supported the bill. The bill passed committee and the full Senate this week on a vote of 47 – 2. It has transmitted to the House.

SB 19 Revise sentencing laws related to theft
Sponsored by Sen. Barry Usher, SB 19 was heard on Friday morning (February 7) in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill will increase the penalties for theft and bad checks in an attempt to cut down on the amount of retail theft many are experiencing. NFIB joined a number of retail associations in supporting this effort. The bill passed the Senate, after floor debate, with on a 32-16 vote. It now heads to the Finance & Claims Committee, as it has a cost of nearly $2 million over the biennium.

HB 297 Establish requirement for paid sick days
Sponsored by Sen. SJ Howell, HB 297 was TABLED in House Business & Labor. It would have required all businesses with over 10 employees to offer paid sick leave. NFIB has opposed this proposal as unnecessary government regulation of small business.

HB 319 Prohibiting employer requirements for employees to attend controversial social vision training
Sponsored by Rep. Steven Kelly, HB 319 was heard in the House Judiciary Committee. The committee has not taken any action. This bill makes it illegal for terminating an employee who refuses to attend any training that is outside the scope of employment if that training promotes a controversial social vision.

The Week Ahead

Monday, February 10, 2 p.m.
House Appropriations Committee
HB 231 – Revise Property Tax Rates for Certain Property
Sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, HB 231 is the governor’s property tax proposal. It would:

— lower the taxable rate on owner-occupied homes and monthly rental property that are less than four times the median residential value from 1.35% to 1.1% (non-owner-occupied homes, short-term rentals and vacant property would increase from 1.35% to 1.9%)

— commercial property would its tax rate on the value that is less than six times the average commercial value lowered from 1.89% to 1.5%. The value in excess would see their tax rate increase from 1.89% to 2.1%.  According to the fiscal note, the “break even” point for commercial property would be about $6 million.  Everyone valued less than that amount would see a decrease in tax and everyone with a value higher would see an increase in their taxes.  As NFIB was asked to participate in the governor’s task force, and worked hard to have the small commercial tax break included, we will speak in favor of this proposal.

HB 131 Revise duration of Unemployment Insurance Benefits
Sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe. See info above

Tuesday, February 11, 8 a.m.
House Business and Labor Committee
HB 367 Revise workers compensation laws relating to travel and reimbursement
Sponsored by Rep. Ed Buttrey, HB 367 would add to workers’ compensation law that an employee is not automatically covered by works comp just because they are in a vehicle that is supplied by the employer or is being reimbursed for travel costs. This would further remove personal use from coverage.

Senate Finance and Claims Committee, 2 p.m.
SB 19 Revise sentencing laws related to theft
Sponsored by Sen. Barry Usher. See info above

Legislation NFIB is Tracking

Workers’ Compensation Related

HB 197  Revise Worker’s Compensation relating to when the employee is released to work
Sponsored by Rep. Anthony Nicastro, this bill is intended to speed up the time between when an injured worker is released to go back to work and when they can actually go back to work. Prior to an adverse court ruling, when an employee was released for full duty, with no restrictions, they could simply go back to work. A court ruling created a loophole where the employee needs to go through a check-in type process that can take a month or longer.  This bill corrects that ruling. NFIB supported the bill, and it passed House and has been transmitted to the Senate.

SB 109 Revise workers’ compensation definition of treating physician to include Physical Therapists
Sponsored by Sen. Greg Hertz, SB 109 passed out of Senate Business & Labor on an 11–0.  This centered more on the scope of practice for PT than on whether it would save any money. NFIB only monitored this bill.

HB 428 Revising provisions related to workers compensation
Sponsored by Rep. Morgan Thiel, HB 428 has been introduced, but not yet assigned to a committee. This would change the definition of an employer slightly. Currently, under Montana law, if a business retains a sub-contractor, it is presumed  liable for the workers’ compensation UNLESS the sub-contractor has full control over all aspects of the worker AND they carry a work comp policy on them. This would eliminate the need to prove that the sub-contractor carried a works’ comp policy in order to prove that the general contractor is not liable. It also makes some changes in the reports that the insurer and the medical provider need to supply.

LC 1836 Revising workers’ compensation insurance laws to remove the limitation on benefits to the state’s weekly average wage
This proposal is about ready to be introduced. NFIB will join other industry groups and the State Fund in opposing this expensive legislation.

LC 660 Restoring the right for injured worker to choose their own doctor
Sponsored by Sen. Andrea Olsen. This is a doctor-shopping bill. NFIB will oppose.

LC 664 Revise laws related to workers’ compensation definition of wages
Another measure sponsored by Senator Olsen, it would simply require the insurance agency to update the value of employer-supplied housing each year.

State Fund and the private workers’ compensation insurers have indicated that they would appreciate support of a proposal to clarify who can be a benefits custodian to receive payments on behalf of a child or incompetent person. This is something that was done in the past, but a court ruling has upset the apple cart and needs to be put into statute. This has been introduced as Senate Bill 202 but not yet assigned to a committee for hearing.

Wage Related

A proposal that would increase the state minimum wage rate to $12.06 an hour and continue the COLA going forward. This bill, draft by Rep. Kelly Kortum, is ready to be introduced. NFIB will continue to oppose this.

LC 120 Revise laws relating to wage transparency
It has worked through the drafting process but has not yet been introduced. This proposal is a bit vague in what it requires of an employer other than advertising wages.

LC 1337 Require employers to use e-verify for employment eligibility
Sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, this would not only  require all employers use e-verify but also moves enforcement to the attorney general’s office. You may recall that a different bill that passed last week allowed for both e-verify and I-9 and gave the Department of Labor the ability to check for status. That bill passed the House. Mitchell’s bill has not yet been introduced.

A proposal that would fine employers $1,000 if they financially incentivize their employees to register to vote.

Tax Related

LC 446 Increase business equipment tax exemption
The bill would increase the current exemption from $1 million to $3 million for taxable equipment. This is part of the governor’s budget proposal and is being requested by Sen. Josh Kassmier who carried the bill last session to increase the exemption to $1 million.

LC 1051 Revise sales tax laws to provide for local option tax
Sponsored by France.  NFIB members have voted to oppose all local option sales taxes.

Miscellaneous

A proposal to phase out polystyrene single use food containers. This bill draft has been ready to introduce for some time. NFIB will oppose if this is introduced.

LC 3023 Revising laws related to credit card transaction fees
Sponsored by Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, LC 3023 proposes to make credit card transaction fees legal but require them to be capped at 3% or as otherwise provided in your contract and that the fee is clearly disclosed to customers prior to the transaction.

Prior Weekly Reports 

— February 2—NFIB-Supported Unemployment Insurance, Workers’ Comp Bills Advance

— January 26—Legislature Simmers Down, Settles into Normal Pace

— January 20—Governor’s Property Tax Proposal Starts Legislative Run

— January 12—Chaotic Start to the 2025 Legislative Session

— January 6—Montana Legislature Starts its 2025 Session