Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Bill would create a Big Sky Rail account to support passenger-rail development; supporters cite economic and connectivity benefits
Summary
Representative Denise Baum asked the committee to create a Big Sky Rail account with a $2 million annual statutory appropriation to support passenger-rail corridor development and nonfederal matching needs for federal planning grants.
HELENA — Representative Denise Baum presented House Bill 848 to create a state special revenue account, the Big Sky Rail account, and provide a statutory $2 million annual appropriation to the Department of Transportation for passenger-rail development, safety upgrades and project-match needs.
Baum said the account would support work on the Big Sky North Coast Corridor — the proposed southern long‑distance route — and improvements to the existing Empire Builder corridor. She said the proposal was initially tied to a vehicle-related tax but committee staff amended the draft to use the rail car tax; she told the committee she is open to alternative funding sources such as general fund if the committee prefers.
Big Sky Passenger Rail leaders…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
