By Clayton Murphy and Emma White | UM Legislative News Service, University of Montana School of Journalism

Several Property Tax Bills Emerge as Front Runners at Legislature

HELENA — In early January, Gov. Greg Gianforte told lawmakers to get property tax relief bills to his desk by mid-February. Now with just a few days left before the Legislature’s halfway mark, several bills that cut at the issue in different ways are still alive. 

One of the highest profile bills is House Bill 231, carried by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad. It’s a Republican flagship that would create a “homestead exemption,” decreasing property tax for primary residences and shifting the burden to out-of-state property owners and short-term rentals.

“The intent of this bill was to identify those that were not paying for services in Montana and suggest that maybe they could participate and that potentially some short-term rentals were not classified correctly,” Jones said.

After over a month of amendments and party-line votes, the House passed the bill and transmitted it to the Senate Feb. 27.

A slew of tax credits aimed at alleviating the tax burden are still making their way through both Senate and House chambers, like Missoula Democratic Rep. Jonathan Karlen’s House Bill 154.

“This bill is a backstop that ensures that our constituents don’t face a property tax burden that exceeds their ability to pay it,” Karlen said. “And it essentially sets a threshold or a series of thresholds for which we can ensure that our constituents will never face a property tax burden that exceeds an affordable portion of their income.”

Karlen’s bill passed the House 59-39 and the Senate will now debate it. 

And in the Senate, Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila’s Senate Bill 90 is on its third and final reading. The bill would redirect tax revenue from lodging and rental cars to property tax relief. That bill has passed on wide margins so far.

-By Clayton Murphy/UM Legislative News Service.

Legislators Consider Banning Mandatory Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs at State Agencies

HELENA – A bill that would ban state agencies from implementing mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion programs passed out of committee last week, with proponents arguing these programs are expensive and discriminatory and opponents arguing they are an attempt to prevent discrimination and reconcile the past.

Rep. George Nikolakakos, R-Great Falls, said his House Bill 635 would also prevent state agencies spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and from using diversity statements on employment applications. Nikolakakos specified that HB 635 does not interfere with schools teaching the history of tribal nations, Title IX education, sexual harassment trainings or disability education.

Nikolakakos said required diversity, equity and inclusion programs are discriminatory, and contrary to Montana’s individualist culture.

“They seek to divide Montanans into groups, promote a culture of victimhood over a culture of resistance, and seek to ensure an equality of outcome over a system of merit,” Nikolakakos said.

Amelia Gilsdorf of the Foundation for Government Accountability spoke in support of the bill, adding that the foundation is committed to working with the sponsor to finalize the bill’s language.

Opponents to the bill included Kelsen Young with the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Young said she objected to the principle that these programs are discriminatory since the whole idea of these programs was to identify discrimination against certain groups and bring it to light.

“The whole intent was to try to say, we as a culture need to take responsibility for the harms we have caused,” Young said. “We need to understand how there is diversity within our communities and that people have different identities, different experiences, et cetera.”

Patrick Yawakie, representing the Blackfeet Tribe, the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy and the Fort Belknap Indian Community also spoke against the bill. Yawakie asked for an amendment that would ensure that the bill would not interfere with education about treaties, policies, culture and timelines of the tribal nations of Montana.

-By Emma White/UM Legislative News Service.

Bill That Would Allow Parental Access to Child’s Health Information Passes House 

HELENA – The House passed a bill on Feb. 27 that would allow parents access to their child’s medical records, with proponents arguing it will help parents help their children and opponents arguing it will endanger kids with unsafe home situations.

Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, spoke in opposition to House Bill 377 due to concerns that it could further endanger a child in a precarious situation. They said as representatives of the state, it’s the Legislature’s job to make sure those kids are protected.

Howell thanked the sponsor for amendments added to address those situations, but said they were not convinced the amendments would adequately address the problem.

“I’m just concerned that the timing is laid out in the bill, and the exemptions are not quite strong enough, and then we’re going to end up in a situation where kids who are trying to seek help are inadvertently putting themselves in more danger,” Howell said.

On the other side,  Rep. Sherry Essmann, R-Billings, said she supports the bill because the majority of parents need this bill to protect their children.

“We in this body tend to make a lot of laws based on exception,” Essmann said. “We find one or two people or a small group of people that need something and we want to make a law to help them with total disregard to what the majority of people really need done in their lives.”

HB 377 passed the House 57-41 on Feb. 27.

-By Emma White/UM Legislative News Service.

Lawmakers Consider Minimum Wage Increase

HELENA — Lawmakers have tabled a bill that would have raised Montana’s minimum wage to $12.06 an hour. 

Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, introduced House Bill 484 to the House Business and Labor Committee on Feb. 27. Supporters said the state’s current $10.55 rate doesn’t match the cost of living, but opponents disagreed and said the increase could increase inflation.

Patrick Yawakie, representing the Blackfeet Tribe, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy, said a person working 40 hours a week on minimum wage makes just shy of $1,700 a month, the state’s average rent.

“Many of these Montanans who work hard are the backbone of many different industries in the state,” Yawakie said. “Providing this increase to minimum wage will provide a sense of security and support directly needed for working Montanans.”

But Brad Griffin, President of the Montana Restaurant Association, argued that legislation passed in 2006, which increases minimum wage yearly to account for inflation, does enough on its own and limits increased inflation.

“Minimum wage has been on autopilot for the last 18 years,” Griffin said. “Please leave it on autopilot and table this bill.”

Other opponents included both the Billings and state Chambers of Commerce.

Sarah Swanson, commissioner for the Montana Department of Labor and informational witness at the hearing, said approximately 4.1 percent of the state’s workforce makes minimum wage.

The House Business and Labor Committee tabled the bill on a 12-8 vote. 

-By Clayton Murphy/UM Legislative News Service.

Bills Would Ban Inactive Voters From Signing Ballot Initiative Petitions

HELENA – The House State Administration Committee voted last week to table two bills aimed at barring inactive voters from being counted on petitions to qualify initiatives to be included on Montana ballots. 

Rep. Zack Wirth, R-Wolf Creek, sponsored House Bills 597 and 598. He said the requirement would protect the political weight of ballot initiatives, given the effort it takes to be a registered, active voter.

“And you have a great deal of responsibility by being an active voter, it’s assumed that you are somewhat knowledgeable about whatever issues that you’re being asked to sign,” Wirth said.

A voter is classified as inactive if they do not vote in a state or federal general election. Opponent SK Rossi with the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana expressed concerns that if a voter missed just one election, they would be frozen out of the ballot initiative process. Rossi also said the Montana Constitution outlines who can sign a petition, and that definition does not require an active voter status.

“This very much violates the Montana State Constitution, which dictates qualified electors and who can sign petitions,” Rossi said.

Derek Oestreicher with the Montana Family Foundation was the only proponent between both bill hearings. He said HB 598 would help build a more solid structure of requirements for signing petitions.

“I think anytime we have an opportunity to provide some clarity in our law, that’s a good bill,” Oestreicher said.

In the last election, one citizen-led ballot initiative passed – CI-128, which amends the Montana Constitution to protect abortion rights in the state and restricts state government from denying or burdening access to abortions. 

The bills will be dead unless the whole House of Representatives votes to revive them before a key mid-session deadline on March 7.

-By Clayton Murphy/UM Legislative News Service.

Committee Advances Bill Aimed at Reducing Liability for Pesticides

HELENA — An effort to protect Montana agriculture from pesticide lawsuits passed the House Agriculture Committee last week and the full House will now vote on the bill this week. 

House Bil 522 would shield manufacturers, marketers, dealers, distributors, retailers and sellers from liability if a pesticide is labeled with a safety warning. Supporters said the bill would help farmers continue to use the products they might need.   

Karli Johnson with the Montana Farm Bureau Federation supported the bill. She brought examples of warning labels to her testimony and said these labels should help avoid lawsuits that can harm Montana production.

“And there’s a couple important points about that label,” Johnson said. “Everything in that label has to be scientifically proven, not just by the manufacturer of the product, but also by outside sources,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that products with these labels take an average of 11 years to go through that process, including EPA and state registration. She said only about one in 10,000 products make it through the entire process.

But Peter Dudley with Montana Audubon opposed the bill and drew a comparison to vaccines.

 ”That’s a product that was approved by the government that I assume folks are following the instructions of when they use them,” Dudley said. “Would we pass a law saying that folks can’t sue that company if there are associated damages with that product?”

The bill passed the committee on a 10-7 party-line vote.

-By Clayton Murphy/UM Legislative News Service.

Bill Would Make Sharing Explicit AI Deepfakes a Crime

HELENA — Sharing sexually explicit deepfakes created by artificial intelligence could become a crime if a bill in the Montana Senate passes, an effort the bill’s sponsor says was spurred by an increasing trend of these images across the country.

Senate Bill 413, carried by Sen. Laura Smith, D-Helena, had its first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 27. Smith’s bill would give law enforcement more tools in cases of extortion and intimidation.

 “The way that deepfakes are being used right now to, from my understanding, to intimidate or influence people, I narrowed it to the sexually explicit,” Smith said. “It doesn’t mean that someone else couldn’t run a bill that applies to all … non-consensual deepfakes.”

The hearing drew one proponent and one opponent. Nanette Gilbertson with the Montana County Attorneys’ Association supported SB 413.

 ”We’re very grateful for Senator Smith bringing this bill and thinking forward about this emerging problem,” Gilbertson said. “AI has arrived and we are dealing with it and we’re going to be dealing with it.”

Smith added that a criminal enhancement applies when these deepfakes are made using minors.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced SB 413 to the full Senate on an 8-0 vote. 

The bill is similar to Senate Bill 82, which adds the use of AI to criminal offenses in sextortion cases involving minors. SB 82 flew through the House on near-unanimous votes and is now in Senate committees.

Clayton Murphy and Emma White are reporters with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. Murphy can be reached at clayton.murphy@umconnect.umt.edu. White can be reached at emma.white@umconnect.umt.edu.