They weren’t kidding when they said they wouldn’t come home until their had fixed our property tax problem! The Montana Legislature has advance at least 3-bills in that struggle as they near the midpoint of the Session. The bill Gov. Greg Gianforte wants is getting very close to his desk. House Bill 231, carried by Rep. Llew Jones, a Republican from Conrad, has passed the House and now in the Senate for debate.
Along with that, House Bill 154, carried by Rep. Jonathon Karlen, a Democrat from Missoula, pairs property taxes to income levels. His bill easily passed the House 59-39 and is getting started in the Senate.
And, Senate Bill 90, carried by Sen. Carl Glimm, a Republican from Kila, passed out of the Senate on a unanimous 50-0 vote and it now getting an airing in the House. This one moves revenue collected from Lodging and car rental taxes over to reducing property taxes. He says, “…tourists will be helping pay for things like road infrastructure by taking some of that burden off property taxpayers. And the traveling Montana soccer mom paying the lodging tax at a hotel would get her money back, and much more, via property tax relief.”
Transmittal Day is this Friday, March 7th. That’s the day bills have to moved from one chamber to the other, or died for the session. This doesn’t apply to money-related bills, however.
