Today is the 40th legislative day and the pace has really picked up.  The deadline for transmittal of bills defined as general bills (those that don't have an appropriation or revenue impact) from one legislative house to the next is Thursday, February 26.  This past week there was quite a bit of action on several bills that Montana Promotion Division is currently monitoring.  Several bills were scheduled for hearings and even more bills had executive action taken in committees.

Below we have listed introduced bills and all legislative requests that we think might have a direct impact on the tourism and film industries.

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 has not been rescheduled for second reading yet.

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 tax incentive to 2015.  The bill passed out of House on a 64-36 vote and was transmitted to the Senate.

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 tabled in the House Business and Labor Committee. 

HB 438 (Sands) Green Lodging Facility Designation:  This bill creates a new program within the Montana Promotion Division to designate on a voluntary basis green lodging facilities.  It also gives the Tourism Advisory Council the ability to advise the division on how the program should be implemented.  The bill was tabled in the House Business and Labor Committee.

SB 329 (Barkus) Revise Automobile Licensing and Insurance Laws:  The bill was scheduled to be heard in Senate Highways and Transportation on Thursday, February 19, 2009; however this was cancelled and the hearing has not been rescheduled yet.

SB 457 (Branae) Revise Scenic Byways Laws:  The bill was amended and passed the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee on a 9-0 vote.

Legislative Activity next week:

With the transmittal deadline of Thursday, February 26, for all general bills to move from one legislative house to the next, next week the House and Senate will mainly be taking floor action.

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	(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	02/13/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 350	Cultural and aesthetic grant appropriations
HB 51	Dee Brown	(H) Tabled in Committee* -- (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks	02/12/2009	Make state park fee opt in
HB 84	Bill Wilson	(H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading	02/13/2009	Extend duration of fire emergency
HB 150	Dee Brown	(H) Transmitted to Senate	02/07/2009	Montana recreation responsibility act
HB 163	Jill Cohenour	(H) Transmitted to Senate	02/17/2009	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) Transmitted to Senate	02/12/2009	Name portion of US Highway 2 after Highway Patrol officer David Graham
HB 311	Mark Blasdel	(H) Transmitted to Senate	02/10/2009	Name portion of Highway 2 in honor of Evan Schneider
HB 312	Bill Beck	(H) Committee Vote Failed; Remains in Committee -- (H) Taxation	02/12/2009	Increase population requirement for resort tax purposes
HB 329	Dee Brown	(H) Tabled in Committee* -- (H) Taxation	02/12/2009	Donut area population included in resort community population
HB 385	Bob Ebinger	(H) Tabled in Committee* -- (H) Business and Labor	02/13/2009	Fund media institute
HB 438	Diane Sands	(H) Tabled in Committee* -- (H) Business and Labor	02/19/2009	Green lodging facility designation
HJ 15	Mike Milburn	(H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading	02/20/2009	Study resolution on funding for a recreation and tourism enhancement program
SB 19	Larry Jent	(S) Bill Not Heard at Sponsor's Request -- (S) Fish and Game	02/12/2009	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) Rereferred to Committee -- (S) Finance and Claims	02/11/2009	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
SB 343	Verdell Jackson	(S) Rereferred to Committee -- (S) Finance and Claims	02/13/2009	Regulation of zebra mussel and other invasive species
SB 457	Gary Branae	(S) Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended -- (S) Highways and Transportation	02/18/2009	Revise scenic byways 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) Hearing -- (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks	03/12/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 152	Urge vigorous defense of gray wolf delisting
SJ 18	Lynda Moss	(S) Tabled in Committee* -- (S) State Administration	02/16/2009	Resolution for youth designation of state dog
SJ 23	Lynda Moss	(S) 2nd Reading Indefinitely Postponed*	02/19/2009	Resolution promoting Children in Nature

Unintroduced Bills Matching the Search Criteria

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 to Requester for Review	02/19/2009	Funding for national folk festival
LC0827	11/13/2008	Bill Nooney	(C) Draft On Hold	11/26/2008	Generally revise short-term lodging criteria
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 Ready for Delivery	01/07/2009	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

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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