This was a busy week for the Senate.  They passed HB 2, the general funding bill for most of state government, on 2^nd Reading.  This bill is very different from the House version so is expected to be sent to a joint conference committee.  The Senate Finance and Claims Committee has also seriously amended HB 645 the federal stimulus bill.  It will be heard on 2^nd Reading on the Senate Floor on next Tuesday.

Meanwhile the legislators are taking a much deserved Easter break and will return to Helena on Tuesday, April 14.  This break is a great time to thank and show your appreciation to your local Legislators.  It is also a time when they are eager to hear the opinions of their local constituents.  They will then be coming back to the final 11 days of the session which are always the most difficult due to making hard budget decisions.

Highlights for the week:

HB 190 (Van Dyk):  Clarify bridge access law: This bill tries to clarify Montana law on public access to state rivers and streams from county roads and bridges. It declares that people may gain access to state waterways for recreational use by using a public bridge, a right-of-way or abutment and a county road right-of-way.  This bill was transmitted to the Governor.

HB 644 (Sesso) Funding for national folk festival:  This bill appropriates $200,000 to the Department of Commerce from the state general fund to be used for the National Folk Festival.  This bill was heard by the Senate Finance and Claims Committee on Monday, April 6, 2009.

HJ 32 (Ebinger) Study impact of historic preservation and strategies for preservation:  This House Joint Resolution calls for a legislative interim study to look at the impacts of historic preservation in the state and explore funding options for it.  This bill was amended slightly and passed the House Taxation Committee.

Legislative Activity next week:

HB 5 (Sesso) Long-range building appropriations—include energy conservation:  This bill provides funding for capital needs for state parks and Montana Heritage Commission.  This bill will be heard on 2^rd Reading in the Senate on Tuesday, April 14.

HB 9 (Hollenbaugh) Cultural and aesthetic grant appropriations:  This bill provides funding for the Cultural and Aesthetic Grants that are administered by the Montana Arts Council.  This bill will be heard on 3^rd Reading in the Senate on Tuesday, April 14.

HB 645 (Sesso) Implement receipt of and appropriate federal stimulus and recovery funds:  This is the bill that contains the funding available to the states for the federal stimulus bill.  This bill was heavily amended in Senate Finance and Claims, but it is my understanding that the provision for $3 million to the Department to Commerce for Historic Preservation Competitive Grants remains in the bill.  An administrative allowance and a 0.5 FTE were added to help run the program.   The latest version of the bill is not yet available on LAWS.  This bill is scheduled for a full debate on 2^nd Reading in the Senate on Tuesday, April 14.

SB 457 (Branae) Revise scenic byways laws:  This bill is scheduled for a Joint Conference Committee on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 9:00 am in Room 350.

The chart below is for introduced bills that may have direct impact on the accommodation tax or issues important to the tourism and film industry. 

When looking at the status of a bill on this chart, here are some helpful hints:

• Referred to committee means the bill has been assigned to the committee, but the hearing date has not been set.
• Hearing means a hearing is scheduled.

* after status indicates the bill is probably dead

Bill Type - Number	Primary Sponsor	Status	Status Date	Short Title
HB 5	Jon C Sesso	(S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading	04/14/2009	Long-range building appropriations -- include energy conservation
HB 9	Galen Hollenbaugh	(S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading	04/14/2009	Cultural and aesthetic grant appropriations
HB 150	Dee Brown	(H) Transmitted to Governor	04/01/2009	Montana recreation responsibility act
HB 163	Jill Cohenour	(H) Transmitted to Governor	04/01/2009	Revise tax incentives for motion picture industry
HB 190	Kendall Van Dyk	(H) Transmitted to Governor	04/08/2009	Clarify bridge access law
HB 304	Jon Sonju	Chapter Number Assigned	04/02/2009	Name portion of US Highway 2 after Highway Patrol officer David Graham
HB 311	Mark Blasdel	Chapter Number Assigned	04/02/2009	Name portion of Highway 2 in honor of Evan Schneider
HB 312	Bill Beck	(S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred -- (S) Taxation	04/09/2009	Increase population requirement for resort tax purposes
HB 644	Jon C Sesso	(S) Hearing -- (S) Finance and Claims	04/06/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 317	Funding for national folk festival
HB 645	Jon C Sesso	(S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading	04/14/2009	Implement receipt of and appropriate federal stimulus and recovery funds
HJ 15	Mike Milburn	(H) Filed with Secretary of State	04/09/2009	Study resolution on funding for a recreation and tourism enhancement program
HJ 32	Bob Ebinger	(H) Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended -- (H) Taxation	04/08/2009	Study impact of historic preservation and strategies for preservation
SB 117	David E Wanzenried	(S) 3rd Reading Governor's Proposed Amendments Concurred	04/07/2009	Revise or eliminate certain statutory appropriations
SB 343	Verdell Jackson	(H) Hearing -- (H) Agriculture	03/31/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 472	Regulation of zebra mussel and other invasive species
SB 457	Gary Branae	(S) Hearing -- (S) Conference	04/15/2009; 9:00 AM, Rm 350	Revise scenic byways laws
SJ 6	Ken (Kim) Hansen	(S) Filed with Secretary of State	03/18/2009	Urge 24-hour operation for Turner port of entry
SJ 13	Ryan Zinke	(S) Filed with Secretary of State	03/09/2009	Commemorate Glacier Park's centennial
SJ 15	Bruce Tutvedt	(S) Filed with Secretary of State	04/09/2009	Urge vigorous defense of gray wolf delisting

Unintroduced Bills

Bill Draft No. (LC No.)	Request Date	Requestor	Status	Status Date	Short Title
LC0092	04/14/2008	Joseph (Joe) Tropila	(C) Draft On Hold	10/23/2008	Primary seatbelt law
LC0827	11/13/2008	Bill Nooney	(C) Draft On Hold	11/26/2008	Generally revise short-term lodging criteria
LC1156	12/01/2008	Jim Peterson	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	02/13/2009	Generally revise recreation laws--hunting w permission as recreational use
LC1268	12/02/2008	Mike Menahan	(C) Draft Canceled*	04/09/2009	Revise laws governing heritage commission
LC2052	01/05/2009	Debby Barrett	(C) Draft On Hold	01/06/2009	Revise statutory appropriation law
LC2225	01/16/2009	(H) Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education	(C) Draft On Hold	01/21/2009	Revise lodging facility use tax allocation

"Probably Dead" is a Bill Progress Category, and is assigned to those bills that have been voted down or missed a transmittal deadline, and to those bill drafts that have been canceled. To revive a bill that is "probably dead" typically requires a supermajority vote (usually a 2/3 vote) by the House or Senate.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Remember, the legislature has now set up a system for contacting representatives by e-mail. 

http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/61st/legwebmessage.asp

Until next week…

 

Betsy Baumgart
Division Administrator
Montana Promotion Division
bbaumgart@mt.gov

 

 

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