State scoring plays big role in water-and-sewer grant awards kbzk.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kbzk.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Supporters of a bill winding its way through the Legislature say it will finally bring fairness when it comes to property taxes paid to counties with more state-owned lands, but others warn it takes funds from a much-needed lodging tax that helps Montanaâs lodging industry reeling from the punch of COVID-19.
However, those who opposed parts of the bill werenât necessarily against the whole thing, but said it should take the funds from the portion of the lodging tax that goes to the stateâs general fund and not the share that goes to help tourism.
Senate Bill 355, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, would take away $482,000 of the lodging facility taxes from the Montana Historical Society, the Montana University System, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Tribal Economic Development and give it to 16 of the stateâs 56 counties where more than 6% of the land is owned by the state. The biggest chunk, $303,660, would come from the Department of Commerce, which uses
Montana lawmakers brought a pair of bison management bills to the House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday that drew support from livestock interests and opposition from tribal representatives and wildlife advocates.
Bison classification and management in Montana has long been a challenging and, at times, contentious issue. A percentage of wild bison from Yellowstone National Park are known to carry the disease brucellosis, which can cause cattle to abort their calves.
A case of a wild bison transmission to domestic cattle has never been confirmed but has been seen between research animals. Wild Yellowstone bison that are captured and later transported to tribal reservations must first undergo disease testing under quarantine.