Today is the 16th Legislative Day.  As of today there have been 2,295 requests for legislation with 650 bills introduced.  Tomorrow is the deadline for individual legislators to request “Revenue Bill” drafts.

This week the Montana Promotion Division presented its programs before the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government.  The hearing went very well. The Montana Promotion Division had one decision package for the committee which was approved unanimously to increase our authority to accept private dollars for the annual tourism conference, cooperative advertising campaigns, publication advertisements and website links.  

The Montana Promotion Division has been monitoring several bills this week that effect 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.

Highlights for the week:

HB 84 (Wilson) Extend duration of fire emergency:  This bill seeks to allow state emergency declared as a result of wild land fires to extend beyond the time limit imposed for other emergencies.  A hearing was held on January 19 before the House Natural Resources Committee.    The Montana Promotion Division as well as the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Council testified in favor of this bill. 

HB 199 (Sands) Revise allocation of lodging facility use tax:  This bill was tabled by the House Taxation Committee at the request of the bill sponsor.

HB 239 (Lake) Fund restoration and maintenance of Daly mansion: This bill appropriates money from the general fund for the maintenance and restoration of the Daly mansion.  During the hearing before the House Appropriation Committee, there were no opponents.

SB 190 (Hawks) Bed tax for heritage sites, historic preservation, and travel Montana:
This bill seeks to increases the lodging facility use tax by 1% and use the increased tax for heritage and historic preservation grants.  There were a lot of proponents and opponents that testified at the hearing before the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee. 

SJ-13 (Zinke) A joint resolution to commemorate the Centennial of Glacier National passed out of State Administration Committee unanimously and awaits 2nd reading on the Senate Floor.

Legislative Activity next week:

HB 5 (Sesso) Long-range building appropriations—include energy conservation:  This bill is beginning to be heard on Monday, January 26, at 8:00 a.m. before the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Long-Range Planning.  This bill contains funding for the Montana Heritage Commission and the State Parks Division.  Currently the Montana Heritage Commission is having their hearing on Tuesday, January 27 and hearings for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, January 29-30.

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	01/27/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 350	Long-range building appropriations -- include energy conservation
HB 9	Galen Hollenbaugh	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Appropriations	12/23/2008	Cultural and aesthetic grant appropriations
HB 51	Dee Brown	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks	12/12/2008	Make state park fee opt in
HB 84	Bill Wilson	(H) Hearing -- (H) Natural Resources	01/19/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 472	Extend duration of fire emergency
HB 150	Dee Brown	(H) Hearing -- (H) Judiciary	01/13/2009; 8:00 AM, Rm 137	Montana recreation responsibility act
HB 163	Jill Cohenour	(H) Hearing -- (H) Taxation	01/12/2009; 10:00 AM, Rm 152	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 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) Referred to Committee -- (H) Transportation	01/20/2009	Name portion of US Highway 2 after Highway Patrol officer David Graham
HB 311	Mark Blasdel	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Transportation	01/21/2009	Name portion of Highway 2 in honor of Evan Schneider
HB 312	Bill Beck	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Taxation	01/21/2009	Increase population requirement for resort tax purposes
HB 329	Dee Brown	(H) Referred to Committee -- (H) Taxation	01/22/2009	Donut area population included in resort community population
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	(S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading	01/23/2009	Revise or eliminate certain statutory appropriations
SB 166	Dave Lewis	(S) Hearing -- (S) Local Government	01/23/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 405	Allow low-interest coal tax trust fund loans to expand rail passenger service
SB 190	Bob Hawks	(S) Hearing -- (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs	01/22/2009; 9:00 AM, Rm 422	Bed tax for heritage sites, historic preservation, and travel Montana
SB 237	Dave Lewis	(S) Hearing -- (S) Highways and Transportation	01/27/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 405	Primary seatbelt enforcement for motor vehicle occupants
SJ 6	Ken (Kim) Hansen	(S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading	01/23/2009	Urge 24-hour operation for Turner port of entry
SJ 13	Ryan Zinke	(S) Committee Report--Bill Passed -- (S) State Administration	01/22/2009	Commemorate Glacier Park's centennial
SJ 15	Bruce Tutvedt	(S) Hearing -- (S) Fish and Game	01/20/2009; 3:00 PM, Rm 303	Urge vigorous defense of gray wolf delisting

Unintroduced Bills Matching the Search Criteria

Total number of Unintroduced Bills - 14

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
LC0854	11/13/2008	Diane Sands	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	01/08/2009	Green lodging facility designation
LC1083	11/24/2008	Bob Ebinger	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	01/19/2009	Fund media institute
LC1156	12/01/2008	Jim Peterson	(C) Draft On Hold	12/01/2008	Generally revise recreation laws
LC1194	12/01/2008	Lynda Moss	(C) Draft On Hold	12/19/2008	State dog
LC1268	12/02/2008	Mike Menahan	(C) Draft Ready for Delivery	01/07/2009	Revise laws governing heritage commission
LC1924	12/22/2008	Mike Milburn	(C) Draft On Hold	01/20/2009	Study resolution on funding for a recreation and tourism enhancement program
LC1938	12/23/2008	Gary Branae	(C) Draft On Hold	12/23/2008	Revise scenic byways laws
LC2052	01/05/2009	Debby Barrett	(C) Draft On Hold	01/06/2009	Revise statutory appropriation law
LC2095	01/09/2009	Jim Shockley	(C) Draft in Assembly/Executive Director Review	01/23/2009	Increase lodging and per diem reimbursement for state employees
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

 

 

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