By Dan Brooks, Billings Chamber of Commerce

Now that we’re a few weeks into the Legislative Session, the question often arises, “How’s it going in Helena?” I pause and think of quoting a favorite tragic hero, trekking toward the Gap of Rohan: “It’s moving fast …and against the wind.”

Over 550 bills have been introduced so far—almost 200 more than this time during the 2021 Legislative Session which was an exceptionally busy session with 1,313 bill introductions.

With more than 4,500 bill draft requests in, this session is on pace to introduce more legislation than 2021 and has the potential to eclipse 2007 as the session with the most bills introduced in the last 20 years. Legislators are limited, however, by how much the state’s bill drafters (legislative staffers who actually write the new laws) can take on. Judging by the current trend line of bill introductions, and considering General Bills (not Revenue, Appropriation, or Referenda Bills) cannot be introduced after February 23rd, I’d be surprised if this session surpasses 2007 for the most introduced bills.

Even if this session isn’t record-breaking in that respect, it is still extremely busy. If you’re looking for tools to help you keep up, our Data Dashboard is tracking a few session statistics. You can also find out:

 Which local legislator has the most bills introduced and how many bills our local delegation is working on? Granted, this isn’t an entirely fair comparison as a few legislators are carrying bills such as SR 43, “Confirm governor’s appointees for the board of housing.” These bills aren’t proposing changes to the law, but are necessary to conducting government business.

 The number of bill hearings in various policy committees. Curious what the legislature is spending most of its time debating? Other than the budget, the House and Senate Business & Labor Committees are racking up the most hearings so far. 

Senate Bill 145 — Local distribution of lodging tax revenue, Sen. Keith Regier (R) SD 3 – Chamber opposes. This bill redirects funding from the Department of Commerce and the General Fund to go toward property tax relief. As is often the case, policy makers propose ideas to re-divide the same metaphorical pie, robbing Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes. In this case, diverting money from Dept. of Commerce that funds tourism grants and programs may lead to a reduction in tax collections, which the sponsor wants to go toward property tax relief. If the bill solely redirected funds from General Fund, the Chamber would have no concerns. The bill was heard in (S) Tax on Wednesday, January 18.

House Bill 245 — Revise credit for trades education and training, Rep. Sue Vinton (R) D 56— Billings Chamber supports. This bill builds on the success of the Montana Trades Education and Training Tax Credit, established last legislative session, which offers a credit for 50% of an employee’s education, up to $2,000 annually. HB 245 expands the number of occupations and industries that qualify for the tax credit. The Department of Labor estimates the current credit covers 38,000 employees. The expansion offered by HB 245 would include an additional 31,130 employees. This is a great program for getting our workforce additional education.

A few of Governor Gianforte’s tax proposals are up for debate, Among the proposals are a couple the Billings Chamber is eager to support.

The first is House Bill (HB) 212, a bill to increase the business equipment tax exemption from $300,000 to $1 million. Meaning, businesses with market value of class 8 property less than $1 million are exempt from taxation. And those businesses with class 8 property valued at over $1 million will see reduced taxes.

 For Yellowstone County, that means significant savings to our business community. There are 502 entities with business equipment tax liability in tax year 2022. House Bill 212 would fully exempt 273 entities, reduce liabilities for the remaining 229, and provide a total savings of $1.293 MILLION to businesses in Yellowstone County.

 The Billings Chamber has long been a supporter of reducing or eliminating the business equipment tax. We were enthusiastic supporters of raising the exemption to $300,000 during the 2021 Session, and we believe HB 212 is an even better step in the right direction.

Another tax bill making it’s debut this week is Senate Bill (SB) 121. This bill would lower the top marginal income tax rate from 6.5% to 5.9%. It also comes with significant benefits to Yellowstone County taxpayers. The Department of Revenue estimates SB 121 will result in a tax savings of $20.5 million for Yellowstone County taxpayers in tax year 2024. With many of our small businesses filing as pass-throughs, this means more money to reinvest in their businesses.

 Reducing Montana’s top income tax rate to 5.9% would allow the state to take a step down from the top of the tax rate podium. Currently, Montana holds the title for highest top marginal tax rate among our neighboring states. See the graphic below and note that it lists the state’s top rate as 6.75 in January 2022 rather than 6.5, which would go into effect in 2024 per legislation passed in 2021. 

By Chris Woodward, The Center Square

A new report aims to show how California-style zoning practices make it difficult to build affordable starter homes in Montana. 

The updated Montana Zoning Atlas 2.0 from the Frontier Institute also outlines a “Pro-Housing Platform” with policy solutions that local and state leaders can adopt. 

The updated atlas utilizes “a new standardized methodology” that was developed by Cornell University Professor Sara Bronin for the National Zoning Atlas project, “which aims to depict the nation’s 30,000 zoning codes in a clear, publicly accessible map,” according to Frontier Institute President and CEO Kendall Cotton.

“The goal of the Montana Zoning Atlas is to provide community leaders with actionable data which clearly demonstrates how harmful zoning practices worsen the housing shortage by making it difficult to build affordable types of homes in Montana cities,” Cotton told The Center Square.

Published in March 2022, the original zoning atlas accounted for just two zoning factors that impact housing affordability. It was also limited to six cities, whereas the new atlas examines over 100 different variables of zoning regulations. 

“It finds 50% of zoned land in 13 of Montana’s most in-demand counties either outright prohibits or penalizes affordable multifamily starter homes like duplexes,” Cotton said.  

Montana’s population grew 10% from 2010 to 2020, but the supply of housing grew only by 7%, according to Cotton. 

“Governor Greg Gianforte’s Housing Task Force noted that strict local zoning regulation outright prohibits the most affordable types of starter homes like duplexes, townhomes, and triplexes in vast portions of Montana cities,” Cotton said. “People aren’t just getting priced out of Montana cities, they are getting zoned out.”

Cory Shaw, executive director for the Montana Building Industry Association, agrees that housing supply is a problem. Shaw told The Center Square that a lack of housing is a major issue for workers relocating to the state for jobs.

“If there are homes, those that are available are extremely expensive and cost prohibitive due to supply and demand driving up prices,” Shaw said. “Land is tied up in zoning and growth plan restrictions that prevent new construction. All of these play into the detrimental impact to local businesses that a lack of housing can cause.”

The housing crisis is one of the reasons why organizations such as Shelter WF exist.

Nathan Dugan, co-founder and president of Shelter WF, said downtown businesses in Whitefish have had to limit hours due to staffing problems. Meanwhile, Dugan said it is increasingly difficult for younger people to lay down roots and build community in Whitefish. 

“The overall vibrancy of nightlife has decreased as well over the years as many younger folks have been forced out of town due to housing costs,” Dugan said.

The Frontier Institute’s Pro-Housing platform asks Montana leaders to step up with “bold, pro-housing reforms on a statewide scale to give Montana landowners more freedom” to build affordable homes, such as duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes.

“These are some of the most affordable starter home options,” Cotton said. “These types of homes are often referred to as the missing middle because they are outright prohibited in vast portions of America’s cities.”

The platform also says local governments and state lawmakers should “prohibit excessive minimum lot areas in cities,” a move that “can boost the supply of housing.”

State Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-District 13, is among lawmakers trying to push reforms. He plans to carry a proposal suggested in the governor’s housing task force report that would allow for more multi-family units to be constructed where only single-family housing is currently allowed.

“I agree with Frontier Institute’s position, especially that it prevents starter homes and encourages urban sprawl,” Trebas told The Center Square. “People are pushed to the outer parts of a city or bedroom community because costs in the city close to where they generally work is too high.”