[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-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],{"_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",6097441,"mediaKeyId","2828103-d1f074092c6ebc43b55e7c6c2a800019","parentId",2828103,"title","Senate committee rejects concurrence on House Bill 731 after debate over airport fees; bill later tabled","audioSeconds",609,"startMs",1048000,"endMs",1657000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828103-d1f074092c6ebc43b55e7c6c2a800019&start=1048&end=1657","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828103-d1f074092c6ebc43b55e7c6c2a800019/thumbnail_1048000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6097441/Montana/Senate-committee-rejects-concurrence-on-House-Bill-731-after-debate-over-airport-fees-bill-later-tabled","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097441-0bd7ece3b108e92027039ea48d61aeb1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157926&Signature=K6YkCxIwLWIVnVYyYf4mjYRe07L-IShUe0HWcABN6fTaF9q0NE1lS0Gm8RT8ffSVFphgMi8jQJKzJd17J6qMj80lPdao3v0oDPUJDfe3pK4~DRSj8yJG1cXpRe8PB5WxnavNqp1OF2fyysGr9PJxgYm-t8R6u7DbnbTt7S48pl~7FJ5gDjFcAe1zy3lSwGiFEByqcPLVn8IMG~KufuQHrq1x9h6XByrX7a0-YMWTc~qGOk7KRa6Fy3rzJcc1Zef~i~KMIpscde6pu5WNGLhdTFP93dPcEcpHx-Z2rRsYzRms9rZUjYwgN8mKz1AQQSAM3o4poYMoLYWyDTTSK2oAlA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana State Legislature","date","2025-03-31T00:00:00Z","article","The Montana Senate Transportation Committee voted against concurring with House Bill 731, a proposal about reports that receive public funding to provide certain services to light aircraft at no cost, and later voted to place the bill on the table for further consideration.

During debate, Senator Hunter presented printed materials from the Montana Department of Transportation showing airport landing and storage fees and argued that pilots often would not have been charged if they had used public tie-down areas rather than fixed-base operator (FBO) facilities. Hunter said the handout is publicly available on the Montana Department of Transportation website and that many airports provide public tie-down areas with no charge.

\"If you are at an FBO, which is a fixed-base operation, go to the public parking area, plane parking or tie down area. There is no charge for that,\" Senator Hunter said, describing why some pilots are charged only when they use FBO services.

Senator Estes said he opposed the bill and complained the handout Hunter distributed was too small to read. Senator Dunwell warned that passing the bill could inadvertently limit free parking to a single hour at airports that currently provide unrestricted free parking, asking the committee to consider how the law would interact with existing practices. Senator Hunter responded that the bill requires the first hour be free but does not prohibit airports from offering longer or unlimited free parking.

When the committee took a recorded voice vote on concurrence, the tally was one \"for\" and seven \"against,\" and the concurrence motion failed. The transcript lists Vice Chair Dunwell as the sole \"aye.\" Several members were recorded voting \"no\" or absent/by proxy; the committee chair summarized the result as \"1 for and 7 against.\"

After the failed concurrence, a motion was made to place House Bill 731 on the table; that motion carried. Committee leadership said they would attempt to move the bill over and expected it to be considered again on Friday.

The bill and the discussion focused on how airport operations, FBOs and public tie-down areas interact with any statutory requirement that certain services be offered at no charge to light aircraft. Senators cited publicly available Montana Department of Transportation fee and airport facility data during the discussion, and members pressed for clarity on how the bill would affect existing free-parking practices at airports.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Highway and Transportation - Mar 31, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Montana Senate Transportation Committee voted down concurrence on House Bill 731, a measure about services and fees for light aircraft, recording one \"aye\" and seven \"nays,\" then later voted to table the bill for further consideration.","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},6097446,"Senate Transportation committee concurs on bill to transfer Lewis and Clark bicentennial specialty plate to DOJ process",453,542000,995000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2828103-d1f074092c6ebc43b55e7c6c2a800019&start=542&end=995","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2828103-d1f074092c6ebc43b55e7c6c2a800019/thumbnail_542000.jpg","/articles/6097446/Montana/Senate-Transportation-committee-concurs-on-bill-to-transfer-Lewis-and-Clark-bicentennial-specialty-plate-to-DOJ-process","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6097446-860cd940fc667f5bcae53e64ab1baea2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157926&Signature=dareZ8DSWd3qM-QFDTsA4NjbsOE5~cvBNF46~7W9JDeBLeOwwENJbdRCUVKNNhc0rkKd3DJqJYqq-c~dnRyp~ycoFCQWQrD2vC0Fe-Sl5sUaGdHu3~NN2d4XIaowuF3KFfIEZLZVuIoak-9LHYh8eKzHmaPrh8zLCrXCJzCN-6sgu9c6l~WRmyoht7DG5CrjmNvLRzXhmJAL8ZabY-TVIbF9I-Uahtq312~2Z-k5MCB~lGUyXpXEx77fkIfkTDRVM~aua2krWuZuBI3rb6PG1PX~GMI-mT1278pul-VcgvddQefuaKjzHgcJdUU8BcPbqqbC3K-31b-SfbfpGKPTYQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Montana Senate Transportation Committee voted to concur on House Bill 641, a bill to move the Lewis and Clark bicentennial specialty license plate from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Justice
nd bring it into the same streamlined process as other specialty plates. The committee took the voice vote during its session and recorded one \"no\" on the letter record: Senator Dunwell.

The bill is a technical cleanup requested by the Department of Commerce that would remove the plate's standalone statutory program created in 2001, and allow the three beneficiary nonprofits to apply for the specialty plate under the Department of Justice's process, the sponsor said. The sponsor added that the change does not eliminate the groups' opportunity to receive funding tied to the plate.

\"Seven sixty-four one is brought at the request of the Department of Commerce to ensure fairness and streamline government oversight in Montana's specialty license plate program,\" the bill sponsor told the committee, explaining that the plate was created for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial and demand has steadily declined.

Mandy Rambo, deputy director and acting director at the Montana Department of Commerce, said the agency had attempted to move the plate in the 2023 session but did not do so because of staffing changes. \"We did inform them that we would be carrying this bill this session as well,\" Rambo said, and asked the committee for a do-pass recommendation.

Molly Krukenberg, director of the Montana Historical Society, testified as an informational witness that the society receives a small portion of revenue from the bicentennial plate and was available to answer questions. She said the authority allocated for the Heritage Center had diminished to about $1,100 per year for the next biennium.

Committee members asked about the amount of revenue the Historical Society would lose and about options to preserve funding. Senator Olsen asked how much the historical society was losing; Krukenberg replied that allocated authority had declined and amounted to roughly $1,100 each year for Heritage Center exhibits related to Lewis and Clark. Senator Dunwell asked about the \"intangible\" benefits of the plate as commemoration; Krukenberg said the plate keeps the bicentennial in the public's mind while generating some revenue for related work.

After the hearing, a motion to concur on House Bill 641 was offered and carried by voice vote; the committee recorded that Senator Dunwell was the lone \"no\" on the letter record. The sponsor closed by urging the committee to move the bill under the Department of Justice like the other specialty plates so the three nonprofits could continue to pursue funding.

The bill moves the Lewis and Clark bicentennial plate into the same administrative path as approximately 200 other specialty plates and is intended as an efficiency measure rather than an elimination of nonprofit funding tied to the plate.","The Montana Senate Transportation Committee voted to concur on House Bill 641, which transfers oversight of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial specialty license plate from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Justice, aligning it with roughly 200 other specialty plates.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate committee rejects concurrence on House Bill 731 after debate over airport fees; bill later tabled

Senate Transportation committee concurs on bill to transfer Lewis and Clark bicentennial specialty plate to DOJ process