Senate Finance advances vehicle-fee cut, wireless tax break and other tax measures; income tax bill tabled

The Montana Senate Finance and Claims Committee on the morning session advanced a slate of tax and budget measures after hearings on several bills and then completed executive action on most items on its agenda.

Senators voted to move forward with a reduction in motor-vehicle registration fees (Senate Bill 327), an expanded exemption for wireless infrastructure (Senate Bill 534), an increase in the business-equipment tax exemption (Senate Bill 322, amended to $1.5 million), and several property-tax rebate and assistance proposals. A broad income-tax cut (Senate Bill 203) was debated at length and was tabled after a 10-12 recorded vote in executive action.

The vehicle registration bill, sponsored by Senator Greg Hertz, drew the committee’s first hearing. "I do have my money jacket on because we're here to talk about money," Hertz told the committee as he described the bill’s purpose to reduce registration fees and the fiscal work done to protect special revenue accounts and local entitlement-share payments. Department of Revenue and Legislative Fiscal Division staff described a negotiated amendment that inserts a floor in the entitlement-share growth formula (a guaranteed minimum growth rate of about 2.5%) and a cap (roughly 3–3.5%) so local governments’ entitlement-share payments continue to grow in normal amounts despite lower vehicle-fee revenue. Senator Hertz and Sam Shaffer of LFD said those technical adjustments aim to keep counties and special revenue accounts whole while producing relief for vehicle owners. The sponsor noted a modest additional general-fund cost in out years tied to the amendment; at close of hearing he referenced about a $3,000,000 incremental impact in one estimate.

On wireless infrastructure (SB 534), sponsors and industry proponents said the bill would allow a property-tax abatement on certain new wireless equipment while requiring companies to reinvest the tax savings into new deployment within two years. Amy Grimollis, representing Verizon, explained the reinvestment requirement in the bill’s draft: "To receive and maintain the exemption, the company must reinvest the tax savings... within 2 years."…