Today is the 28th Legislative Day. As of today there are 2,310 requests for legislation. The pace is really starting to pick up as we are only ten legislative days away from the deadline for committees to request general bills and 20 days away from Transmittal, which is the day that all general bills must be transmitted to the other Chamber.  

The Montana Promotion Division has been monitoring several bills this week that affect administration of state programs, as well as various aspects of the tourism and film industry.  Below we have listed introduced bills and all legislative requests that we think might have a direct impact on the tourism and film industries.

HB 163 (Cohenour):  Revise tax incentives for motion picture industry. This bill was brought at the request of the Department of Commerce and extends the current sunset of the Big Sky on the Big Screen Act film production tax incentive to 2015.  This bill passed out of the House on 2nd reading (57-43) and was referred to House Appropriations. This bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee - Room 102, Monday, February 9, at 3:00 p.m.   

Appropriation Committee Members

Member	Assignment
Jon C Sesso	Chair
Duane Ankney	Member
Dennis Getz	Member
Bill E Glaser	Member
Ray Hawk	Member
Teresa K Henry	Member
Cynthia Hiner	Member
Roy Hollandsworth	Member
Galen Hollenbaugh	Member
Llew Jones	Member
Dave Kasten	Member
Bill McChesney	Member
Walter McNutt	Member
Robert Mehlhoff	Member
Penny Morgan	Member
Bill Nooney	Member
Carolyn Pease-Lopez	Member
Don Roberts	Member
Cheryl Steenson	Member
Dan Villa	Member
Jon Moe	Legislative Branch Staffer
Samual Speerschneider	Secretary

Highlights for the week:

HB 84 (Wilson) Extend duration of fire emergency:  This bill seeks to allow a state emergency declared as a result of wild land fires to extend beyond the time limit imposed for other emergencies.  This bill passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee (17-1).  It was originally scheduled for second reading in the today, but they passed consideration for the day. 

HB 150 (Brown, Dee): Montana recreation safety act. This bill states that in some recreational activities that there is inherent risk and it limits the liability of providers of those recreational activities.  The bill passed 3rd reading in the House today by a vote of 60-29.

SJ-13 (Zinke) A joint resolution to commemorate the Centennial of Glacier National passed out of the House State Administration Committee by a vote of 17-0.  

Legislative Activity next week:

HB 51 (Brown, Dee) Make state park fee opt in:  This bill would change the option for a person who registers a light vehicle to elect to pay, rather than elect not to pay, an additional fee of $4 to be used for State Parks, for fishing access sites, and for the operation of state-owned facilities which includes those properties managed by the Montana Heritage Commission. This bill is scheduled for hearing in House Fish Wildlife and Parks Committee Tuesday, February 10, at 3:00 p.m. in Room152.  

HB 385 (Ebinger) Fund media institute:  The bill states that the Department of Commerce shall identify professional media arts programs that train workers and appropriates $200,000 from the general fund for the biennium for the support of these programs.  This bill was rescheduled to be heard on Wednesday, February 11, at 3:00 p.m. before the House Business and Labor Committee. 

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.

Bill Type - Number	Primary Sponsor	Status	Status Date	Short Title
HB 5	Jon C Sesso	(H) Hearing -- (H) Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Long-Range Planning	01/30/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 350	Long-range building appropriations -- include energy conservation
HB 9	Galen Hollenbaugh	(H) Hearing -- (H) Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Long-Range Planning	02/03/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 350	Cultural and aesthetic grant appropriations
HB 51	Dee Brown	(H) Hearing -- (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks	02/10/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 152	Make state park fee opt in
HB 84	Bill Wilson	(H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading	02/06/2009	Extend duration of fire emergency
HB 150	Dee Brown	(H) 3rd Reading Passed	02/06/2009	Montana recreation responsibility act
HB 163	Jill Cohenour	(H) Hearing -- (H) Appropriations	02/09/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 102	Revise tax incentives for motion picture industry
HB 167	Diane Sands	(H) Hearing -- (H) Appropriations	01/13/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 102	Funding for Travelers' Rest State Park
HB 190	Kendall Van Dyk	(H) Transmitted to Senate	01/28/2009	Clarify bridge access law
HB 199	Robin Hamilton	(H) Tabled in Committee* -- (H) Taxation	01/20/2009	Revise allocation of lodging facility use tax
HB 229	Gary MacLaren	(H) Hearing -- (H) Appropriations	01/15/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 102	Fund St.Mary's preservation
HB 239	Bob Lake	(H) Hearing -- (H) Appropriations	01/21/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 102	Fund restoration and maintenance of Daly mansion
HB 304	Jon Sonju	(H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading	02/07/2009	Name portion of US Highway 2 after Highway Patrol officer David Graham
HB 311	Mark Blasdel	(H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading	02/07/2009	Name portion of Highway 2 in honor of Evan Schneider
HB 312	Bill Beck	(H) Hearing -- (H) Taxation	01/30/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 152	Increase population requirement for resort tax purposes
HB 329	Dee Brown	(H) Hearing -- (H) Taxation	02/04/2009; 9:00 AM, Rm 152	Donut area population included in resort community population
HB 385	Bob Ebinger	(H) Hearing -- (H) Business and Labor	02/11/2009; 8:30 AM, Rm 172	Fund media institute
HB 438	Diane Sands	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Business and Labor	02/04/2009	Green lodging facility designation
HJ 15	Mike Milburn	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks	02/03/2009	Study resolution on funding for a recreation and tourism enhancement program
SB 19	Larry Jent	(S) Referred to Committee -- (S) Fish and Game	12/03/2008	Revise nonresident outfitter license--reciprocity
SB 30	Kelly Gebhardt	(S) Tabled in Committee* -- (S) State Administration	01/09/2009	Revise reimbursement for meals, lodging
SB 117	David E Wanzenried	(H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred -- (H) Appropriations	02/06/2009	Revise or eliminate certain statutory appropriations
SB 118	Verdell Jackson	(S) Bill Not Heard at Sponsor's Request -- (S) Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation	01/07/2009	Create invasive and destructive species council
SB 166	Dave Lewis	(S) Tabled in Committee* -- (S) Local Government	01/27/2009	Allow low-interest coal tax trust fund loans to expand rail passenger service
SB 190	Bob Hawks	(S) Tabled in Committee* -- (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs	01/30/2009	Bed tax for heritage sites, historic preservation, and travel Montana
SB 237	Dave Lewis	(S) 3rd Reading Failed*	02/05/2009	Primary seatbelt enforcement for motor vehicle occupants
SB 309	Jim Shockley	(S) Hearing -- (S) State Administration	02/06/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 335	Increase lodging and per diem reimbursement for state employees
SB 329	Gregory D Barkus	(S) Referred to Committee -- (S) Highways and Transportation	02/02/2009	Revise automobile licensing and insurance laws
SJ 6	Ken (Kim) Hansen	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Business and Labor	01/24/2009	Urge 24-hour operation for Turner port of entry
SJ 13	Ryan Zinke	(H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred -- (H) State Administration	02/03/2009	Commemorate Glacier Park's centennial
SJ 15	Bruce Tutvedt	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks	02/03/2009	Urge vigorous defense of gray wolf delisting
SJ 18	Lynda Moss	(S) Referred to Committee -- (S) State Administration	02/02/2009	Resolution for youth designation of state dog

Unintroduced Bills Matching the Search Criteria

* after status indicates the bill is probably dead
Total number of Unintroduced Bills - 11

Bill Draft No. (LC No.)	Request Date	Requestor	Status	Status Date	Short Title
LC0001	04/25/2007	Jeff Essmann	(C) Draft Request Received	04/25/2007	Uniform local option tourism tax
LC0092	04/14/2008	Joseph (Joe) Tropila	(C) Draft On Hold	10/23/2008	Primary seatbelt law
LC0122	05/22/2008	George G Groesbeck	(C) Draft On Hold	01/21/2009	Funding for national folk festival
LC0827	11/13/2008	Bill Nooney	(C) Draft On Hold	11/26/2008	Generally revise short-term lodging criteria
LC0966	11/17/2008	Deborah Kottel	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	01/28/2009	Limit liability of host of off-highway vehicle activity
LC1156	12/01/2008	Jim Peterson	(C) Draft On Hold	12/01/2008	Generally revise recreation laws
LC1268	12/02/2008	Mike Menahan	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	01/07/2009	Revise laws governing heritage commission
LC1831	12/09/2008	Lynda Moss	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	02/05/2009	Resolution promoting Children in Nature
LC1938	12/23/2008	Gary Branae	(C) Draft in Legal Review	02/06/2009	Revise scenic byways laws
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

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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