Legislative Briefs - Week 18

Lawmakers Pass New Statewide Zoning Laws

Lawmakers in Helena passed a bill that would allow for mixed-use development in commercially zoned areas with the aim of increasing the state's housing supply. The bill is now awaiting a decision from Gov. Greg Gianforte.

Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, sponsored Senate Bill 245, which requires cities to allow apartment style complexes to be built in commercial zoning areas, such as shopping areas or financial districts where housing might not normally wouldn't be permitted.

Zolnikov said at the bill's first hearing in the Senate in February that the bill is an attempt to address the housing crunch in Montana, particularly the lack of affordable housing.

​​"When zoning standards add prohibition or additional costs, developers take a walk from projects that are marginally profitable opportunities like these or they turn affordable housing options into high-end luxury options to pass on the costs and ensure profitably," Zolnikov said.

The bill had bi-partisan support throughout the process passing the Senate 41-9 on Feb. 24. The bill was Amended by the House and passed 97-3 on April 13. The Senate was unable to concur with the amendments, which prompted a Free Conference Committee on April 28, that is made up of lawmakers from the House and the Senate to iron out the details of a bill together. The bill unanimously passed the committee, and was confirmed by the Senate 45-5 on May 1, and the House 87-8 on May 2.

"The only changes that were made were an 'and' was changed to an 'or,' – allowing mixed-use development or multi-family housing developments. And then the threshold, which this would apply to, changed from 7,000 to 5,000 in population," said Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, who carried the bill on the House floor.

Lawmakers also passed a bill that would prohibit local governments from using external boards to review zoning permits and variances.

Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, sponsored Senate Bill 407, which revises city zoning laws to allow variances to be requested through administrative processes rather than having a municipal board that reviews the requests.

"When I served on the city council in a South Eastern Montana city, I think we only heard three variances over the year, and it had come to us earlier but they had moved away and didn't know they had to have a full committee... It's rarely used in those committees, so I think moving it to an administrative process is probably more efficient," said Rep. Larry Brewster, R-Billings, who carried the bill on the House floor.

The bill had bipartisan support throughout the session, passing the Senate 49-1 on March 2, and being amended and passed by the House 98-2 on April 13. The amendments were not concurred and the bill was sent to a Free Conference Committee, where it was passed unanimously. Following the committee report, the bill passed the Senate 44-6 and the House 91-5 on May 2.

Legislature Passes Bill Incentivizing Renewable Fuel Production

A bill that offers property tax incentives for producing renewable energy is one step away from becoming law after earning widespread support in the Legislature.

Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, sponsored Senate Bill 510, which updates the tax code to provide incentives to energy production plants that have been renovated to use things like animal fat to create biodiesel fuel.

"I think it's about 15 years ago the legislature passed a couple statutes that were designed to promote different types of renewable energy production, and one of those was biodiesel fuels. What this bill does is it builds on that," Fitzpatrick said. "Obviously this is a tremendous way to provide incentive to the agricultural economy in Montana. Along with this we're hoping that people will come along and build seed crushing facilities and promote more Montana agriculture."

The bill passed the Senate 46-3 on April 3, and was amended by the House Appropriation Committee to remove the ability for companies to claim the "new and expanded business tax incentive," while also collecting the renewable energy tax incentives.

"I think that's a fair amendment because the way the bill was originally written it would result in a double abatement, and it would take away that double abatement. Which I think is the fair way to go," Fitzpatrick said.

The bill passed the House as amended 81-16 on April 28, and the amendments were confirmed by the Senate 48-1 on May 1. The bill now awaits the governor's signature.

Legislature Rejects Governor's Amendment on Bill Increasing Big-Game Tags for Out-of-State Landowners

Lawmakers in Helena have refused to accept an amendatory veto from Gov. Greg Gianforte on a bill that would create a preference pool for non-resident landowners to get big-game hunting licenses.

Rep. Josh Kassmier, R-Fort Benton, sponsored House Bill 635, which allows for 15 percent of the 17,000 big-game tags to be reserved for out-of-state landowners.

"If you open your land up to the public like block management you can buy an extra bonus point to put in for special draw areas. So we're trying to increase more access," Kassmier said.

Only one tag can be held for every 2,500 acres of land owned in the state, and the maximum number of tags per out-of-state individual is five.

The bill passed on party lines. The House passed the bill 56-42 on March 3, and the Senate passed it 27-23 on March 28. Gov. Greg Gianforte sent an amendatory veto that would increase the tag number from one per 2,500 acres to three, and implemented a requirement that property must be owned in the state for more than three years to be eligible.

Rep. Tom France, D-Missoula, spoke against the governor's amendment and the bill on the House floor, and said all it does is give elk hunting permits to non-resident landowners and creates a dangerous formula to take away availability for Montanans.

"The governor's amendments really liberalize who will be eligible, by giving more permits to non-resident landowners that hold smaller acreages," France said

Both chambers rejected the governor's amendment, with the House voting to reject the amendment 35-65, and the Senate concurring with the House's decision 46-4. The bill will be sent back to the governor where he can either sign the original bill or outright veto it.

If he outright vetoes the bill, the legislature will have a chance to override his decision through mail in polling following the session's end on May 2. The legislature will need two-thirds of each chamber to override the veto.

Grizzlies Dominate Fish and Wildlife Debates in 68th Legislature

The attempts to lay out plans to apply for the federal delisting of the grizzly bear took over the fish and game scene at the 2023 Legislature.

Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, sponsored Senate Bill 85, which establishes a plan for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to manage grizzly bears following federal delisting in the Northern Yellowstone and Upper Continental Divide area.

The bill requires FWP to manage the mortality rate and bear population to keep the species at sustainable levels, while also allowing for relocation and preventive measures to protect livestock owners from wild bears.

The bill passed the Senate 37-12 on party lines, before being killed by the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee 18-1 on April 18.

Sen. Butch Gillespie, R-Ethridge, sponsored Senate Bill 295, which also proposes a plan for state management over grizzly bears, but also includes measures of trapping, killing and relocating "threatening" bears. The bill is meant to give livestock owners across the state more availability to reach out to FWP to deal with the animals that are damaging their products or land.

The bill was confirmed 35-12 on April 20, and sent to the governor's desk where it awaits his decision.

The increase to landowner payments under the Block Management Program through Senate Bill 58 was also a bill that flew through the legislative session in the hopes of giving resident hunters more access to land across the state.

Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, sponsored SB 58, which increases the payment cap for landowners from $25,000 up to $15,000 per year to keep the program competitive with private market hunting outfits. The cap was most recently increased last session from $15,000 up to $25,000.

The bill passed with bipartisan support, first in the Senate 45-4 and then in the House 95-2. The bill still awaits Gov. Gianforte's signature, but was a department-backed bill the governor's office showed support for.

Caven Wade is a student reporter 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. He can be reached at [email protected].