Heated hearing on HB 547 over Butte-Silver Bow fire governance exposes deep divisions between paid and volunteer departments

Representative Scott DeMaris (sponsor) opened the hearing on House Bill 547 as a narrow, targeted repeal aimed only at the consolidated city–county government of Butte-Silver Bow. The bill seeks to remove sections of Title 7 that sponsors say conflict with Butte Silver Bow's 1977 charter and prevent the county from implementing a single director of fire services with operational authority across paid and volunteer departments.

Sponsor and supporters described the bill as a "cleanup" restoring the local charter. "What we need in our community is chain of command," said JP Gallagher, chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow, who testified in favor of the bill and asked the committee for a due pass in the interest of public safety. Multiple paid firefighters, union leaders and the county's safety and health coordinator told the committee that inconsistent training, unclear incident command and fragmented budgeting…