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Senate committee endorses plan to reallocate recreational marijuana funds to habitat, law enforcement and treatment
Summary
Senate Bill 537 would re-bucket existing marijuana excise-tax revenue into a Habitat Legacy account, law-enforcement grants, behavioral health and other targeted funds; the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the bill a do-pass recommendation after sponsors and a broad coalition of conservation, law-enforcement and service providers voiced support.
Senator Daniel Zolnikov presented Senate Bill 537 to the Senate Judiciary Committee as a reallocation and clarification of how existing recreational marijuana excise-tax revenue should be split among conservation, law enforcement and treatment programs. Zolnikov said the proposal does not increase total tax revenue dedicated to conservation but reorganizes allocations and adds new dedicated percentages for law enforcement grants, forensic exam funding and behavioral-health programs.
Under the bill as described in committee testimony, a dedicated Habitat Legacy Account would be created to accelerate habitat restoration and stewardship projects; Zolnikov said the change preserves the commitment to Habitat Montana while expanding flexibility to fund projects such as wildlife crossings, irrigation efficiency, invasive-species control and private-land stewardship. He…
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