[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6302933,"mediaKeyId","2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6","parentId",2475821,"title","Committee hears testimony on HJ 18 urging recognition of D.C. statehood","audioSeconds",893,"startMs",239000,"endMs",1132000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6&start=239&end=1132","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6/thumbnail_239000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6302933/Montana/Committee-hears-testimony-on-HJ-18-urging-recognition-of-DC-statehood","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302933-7fd45d122fbc0e86f662d08502bc21e7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773622076&Signature=WYblcERlXlxgNnHitKsH-mn~-kWf-LrQVcrL-ELink4riW8T1IzzjGJEUkM~ixBRY0Fy8JISLQ002eLqufXGeIA17OoZ785qAk3I0AExtzeEv5NN8o6-pfrjKRZNPFWYhYnEzJV-74wa2sBE19UowMDCG3b-VU4K802VlLP0~9wayjtPrLk7Cu7PUMGlbUOelFv87Uf3qsZD3rBSHmu55hfXARIa0WMk7MAW2nNrh3LaxAxyfKnUcVHhyhgAewZ8wd4mJ-lJvE45K0wL8lU4rJPo~KY9~xaee7Mn0AkVQdcDjZ~g1l5Psui1gIOgddut08ND7SrYeQBgw46nEvOyhA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-03T00:00:00Z","article","House Energy, Technology and Government Affairs held a hearing on House Joint Resolution 18, a resolution urging recognition and support for statehood for the District of Columbia.

HJ 18’s sponsor, Representative Bob Carter of House District 96, opened the hearing and limited public testimony to three minutes because of floor time constraints. The resolution asks Montana’s legislature to register support for full congressional representation for the roughly 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia.

Proponents who testified online said statehood would restore full voting rights. Ankit Jain, appearing online and identifying himself as a U.S. senator for the District of Columbia (non‑voting/shadow status), said, “I urge you to support and vote in favor of this legislation, HJ 18,” and described statehood as a matter of “democratic justice and democratic rights.” Paul Strauss, who described himself as a senior shadow U.S. senator for D.C., said, “Taxation without representation was tyranny at the founding of our republic, but it remains the situation in D.C. now,” and urged lawmakers to consider D.C. residents’ lack of voting representation despite paying federal taxes.

Other witnesses emphasized local impacts. Reverend Wendy Hamilton, who said she works in D.C. public schools, described D.C. as a full civic community with a population larger than some states and asked Montana lawmakers to “think of us, your fellow Americans” when considering the resolution.

Committee members asked factual and procedural questions. Representative Mitchell asked whether the resolution’s approach would be limited to creating a state rather than restoring the federal district around the Capitol and White House; a witness explained that most DC statehood plans would shrink the federal district down to the “Federal Monumental Core” while admitting the remainder as a state. A committee member also asked whether statehood would require a U.S. constitutional amendment; the sponsor answered that a short answer was “no,” but said some electoral‑college implementation changes could raise constitutional questions if members of Congress sought to alter the number of electoral votes.

No formal committee action was recorded at the hearing. The sponsor closed by urging committee support for the resolution.

The hearing concluded with the chair noting the end of testimony and moving to the next agenda item.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Energy, Technology, and Federal Relations Mar 3, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","House Energy, Technology and Government Affairs held a hearing on House Joint Resolution 18, a resolution urging recognition and support for statehood for the District of Columbia.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6302918,"Bill on pole attachments sparks contentious hearing as cooperatives and broadband providers clash",1157,3838000,4995000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6&start=3838&end=4995","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6/thumbnail_3838000.jpg","/articles/6302918/Montana/Bill-on-pole-attachments-sparks-contentious-hearing-as-cooperatives-and-broadband-providers-clash","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302918-f78f5488bd0ba0c907b36d9d18a72fce/orig.mp4?Expires=1773622076&Signature=SuQ1iE4~2ZH8brHimj3EIP~yfn8cGJhH4S7fsnXKUhm6WazkcdMrA9dO~bMGBtXjX3jwnUYiF~RAYIIAsNkggxqL9EJGEpYsQ-uzA3BK72shRvZG-muR-b2b3pQX~ISiEnpxjGWCvCLyW6yBu8~Td1UykPCX~FxtJVfJOlziIdpMxaoZwx4blC488pjQpbb9Eds8N-seakkwwu~vIaUBUz6EPZKRIgOOT57VzEVB71~fJTLId79mBN2h~TeoWXZELCd-Fa7mfCCP~K9mkTmTWPxUzQ1dwtJ7fjbXYFWvOsJSyMgFE2pV~EQTDMgkTwf1jaPfJ-09Si~Si6qvLBM62A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The committee took testimony on House Bill 695, a measure addressing pole attachment agreements between pole owners (principally rural electric cooperatives) and broadband providers receiving public grant funds.

The sponsor described HB 695 as establishing that a pole owner ‘‘shall attach’’ consistent with Federal Communications Commission rules and that, when a pole owner or its affiliate has received broadband grant funding and offers service to subscribers, it must enter an attachment agreement or the aggrieved party may seek judicial relief in the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County.

Opponents argued the bill is narrowly targeted and punitive. Mark Lambrecht of the Montana Electric Cooperatives Association told the committee the bill is ‘‘specifically targeted at Ravalli Electric Cooperative’’ and characterized the proponent as a large national company that received substantial federal and state broadband subsidies. Ravalli Electric’s general manager, Mark Grotbo, said the co‑op had attempted to negotiate and that the national company did not respond for months; he said proposed contract redlines would shift liability to the cooperative, allow unauthorized attachments and trimming, and undermine linemen’s safety. Grotbo said the co‑op had offered attachments in advance of grant projects but had not received cooperative responses in return.

Linemen and safety witnesses described concrete safety risks from nonengineered or unauthorized attachments. Kevin Notts, a line superintendent with over two decades of field experience, testified that utility poles are engineered for specific loading and that extra, unreviewed attachments can weaken poles, create clearance violations, impede safe climbing space and raise the risk of failure during storms. Notts said unauthorized or improper attachments “turn what should be a safe working environment into a serious hazard.”

Broadband‑industry representatives and other proponents argued the policy issue is time‑sensitive and operational: a broadband provider that wins public grant funding must meet deployment deadlines (the ‘‘shot clock’’), and inability to reach timely pole‑attachment agreements can force projects to be buried underground at substantially higher cost or to forfeit grant awards. A proponent who spoke without a named affiliation said the bill’s limited scope — attaching to pole owners or affiliates that received broadband grant funding and commit to offer service — aims to ensure grant projects are not stalled by protracted negotiations.

Other witnesses raised procedural concerns: Broadband Montana, representing locally owned community broadband providers, opposed the bill because it could harm relationships with local electric co‑ops and open existing ARPA grant agreements to renegotiation. Several opponents also warned the bill could create precedent by turning pole‑attachment disputes into legislative fixes rather than contractual or FCC matters.

No committee action was recorded at the hearing; opponents asked lawmakers to reject a statutory remedy that they said would undermine cooperative safety standards and local negotiation processes.","House Bill 695, addressing pole attachments for broadband deployments, drew sharply divided testimony from rural electric cooperatives, linemen and broadband backers.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":80,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6302923,"Lawmakers weigh raising net‑metering cap to 100 kW in HB 811",1835,2003000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6&start=2003&end=3838","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6/thumbnail_2003000.jpg","/articles/6302923/Montana/Lawmakers-weigh-raising-netmetering-cap-to-100-kW-in-HB-811","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302923-c9793395c13375b2d478d0c572db37c6/orig.mp4?Expires=1773622076&Signature=Ji~Jib0ETRa3uj1m8Dke5zX6G85JgFegkfwhyoyKmDF8UMs92i8pN-j8no3yw3UneISfPpHlkX1qgzHr4q6Ik~oCHyOurZzj23Ecv37FXhCXLHCM8ci0HLnkLg3TZp5c6JP8vL6nOqijAlB-Gvo3xp1Yf8emO~6oLAG1zwRhowO5o1VKQtfmYRypsWaHaNFCeQBipKSva99EWWkkLW2j0cW8iLgq73JzlzpmLfpN84gUqu1kWz0XZjACqGqWU7JLH8-onmKVqRUYq0c5k4NI0f7xLmu~82Q5iFQ5FhT5Y0ZYCHz2Z1xOSjnqs1k2KRRJ8bhux~D5OjfHC~BSvzJa~g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Energy, Technology and Government Affairs Committee held a hearing on House Bill 811, which would raise the net‑metering generation capacity cap from 50 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts for customer‑sited solar, wind or hydropower systems.

Sponsor Representative Jamie Isely of House District 58 said the bill is a “common sense” update to a cap set in 1999 and would allow larger community and institutional projects — schools, libraries, municipal buildings, churches and small businesses — to offset a greater share of their electric bills. Isely said an expanded cap could save taxpayers and create learning and job opportunities.

Supporters included the Montana Renewable Energy Association, Solar Montana, the Montana Environmental Information Center, the City of Bozeman and school representatives. McKenna Sellers of the Montana Renewable Energy Association said the two‑decade‑old 50 kW limit “no longer meets the energy needs of Montana’s small businesses, schools, and libraries” and described interconnection and safety review processes utilities already impose. Danny Hess, representing the City of Bozeman, said increasing the cap could raise the Bozeman Public Library’s offset from about 17% to roughly 33% and save about $20,000 a year; similar estimates were offered for municipal water plants.

Opponents, led by Alan Olson of Northwestern Energy, warned that net‑metered customers currently receive bill credits that effectively include components of delivery, transmission and distribution charges, creating what Olson described as a cost shift to other ratepayers. Olson said Montana’s net‑metering program already accounts for more than 60 megawatts of nameplate capacity and estimated the current cost shift at about $5,200,000 a year.

Committee members questioned both the magnitude of any cost shift and whether existing Public Service Commission proceedings or evidence warranted rate changes. Proponents said the most recent PSC analysis did not find sufficient evidence to change net‑metering rates and emphasized project‑level benefits and grid resiliency from distributed generation.

The sponsor closed by asking for a do‑pass, saying the bill “adds length to one of those prongs” of a multi‑pronged energy strategy. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.","House Bill 811 would raise Montana’s net‑metering generation cap from 50 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts. Supporters said the change would help schools, libraries, municipal buildings and small businesses offset large utility bills and boost local resilience; utilities warned of cost shifts to nonparticipating ratepayers.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6302928,"Committee reviews HB 760 to codify 3‑day cooling‑off rule for solar sales",923,1137000,2060000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6&start=1137&end=2060","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2475821-8cae4d942c39e536304ac2fdcd315ca6/thumbnail_1137000.jpg","/articles/6302928/Montana/Committee-reviews-HB-760-to-codify-3day-coolingoff-rule-for-solar-sales","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6302928-c23aff97729a100f3f06397cff4fdbb2/orig.mp4?Expires=1773622076&Signature=ItyNoUejXDPAvIhK~0DfpsuND4JFU8hwoK9Dghw-wRlRFX6l1Qg~r60rWSh3wWk~e8IyBC~EoK7DhPeG1P0ViAIzbFMY1bBuvwdXmBUmLfb8UsdQS8hW52ViNJ9BCb5dbvTkqsQeg2ctjVR8AaiLetBLCA5L8S5m4ZwuokGIaSarTBYAxnib44nEbemv1n5tEts~CSi-uK90wdrDYJbZtIGdoLappIjlMNR2u7grWqF0qn8Qf5aPQLCC7agtJ6VnIMFDyGs5ZzGavF2B7w3cmcyP-0x5-d-10MnyMlYKDijRqsAJIPa9~nJyNieGdpt0P-alp2u5ecbYwAKVRz3SPg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Energy, Technology and Government Affairs held a hearing on House Bill 760, a consumer‑protection bill that would codify a three‑business‑day cancellation period for certain solar contracts and require related disclosures.

Representative K. Kakos, the bill sponsor, told the committee the change is intended to protect customers — particularly elderly residents approached by door‑to‑door salespeople — by matching Montana law to the existing federal cooling‑off rule. Kakos said the bill would give homeowners a short period to review contracts and avoid being bound to agreements signed under pressure.

Industry and advocacy groups broadly supported the bill. Makena Sellers of the Montana Renewable Energy Association testified, “Our members are leaders in the Montana solar industry, and we’re committed to ensuring that every Montanan who invests in solar receives fair treatment, high quality of service, and honest information.” Other supporters that testified included Solar Montana, Risco Solar, Montana Farmers Union, and the Montana Environmental Information Center; proponents said codifying the federal cooling‑off standard will deter bad actors and protect the reputations of responsible local businesses.

Andrew Butler, supervising attorney for consumer protection at the Montana Department of Justice, appeared as an informational witness and said the substance of the bill is currently enforced under Montana code sections 30‑14‑103 and 30‑14‑104 and that the federal cooling‑off rule (16 CFR 429) applies to door‑to‑door sales. Butler stated the bill appears to “enhance” existing enforcement by calling out solar transactions specifically and providing a clear statutory reference.

Supporters urged a do‑pass; no opponents were registered at the hearing. The sponsor closed by calling HB 760 “a simple consumer protection enhancing bill” aimed at policing bad actors and protecting responsible business owners.

No formal committee vote was recorded during the hearing.","House Bill 760 would require a three‑business‑day cancellation (cooling‑off) period for certain solar contracts and add disclosure requirements aimed at door‑to‑door sales. Industry associations and local solar businesses supported the bill; the Department of Justice’s consumer protection division described existing enforcement under Montana law.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears testimony on HJ 18 urging recognition of D.C. statehood

Bill on pole attachments sparks contentious hearing as cooperatives and broadband providers clash

Lawmakers weigh raising net‑metering cap to 100 kW in HB 811

Committee reviews HB 760 to codify 3‑day cooling‑off rule for solar sales