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Committee hears bill to repeal century-old county public-scales law; lieutenant governor backs red-tape cleanup
Summary
Representative Braxton Mitchell introduced House Bill 430 to repeal statutes enabling county-owned public scales; Lieutenant Governor Kristin Juras supported the measure as part of a 'red tape' cleanup and Department of Labor and Industry staff provided informational testimony.
Representative Braxton Mitchell opened the hearing on House Bill 430 in the Senate Local Government Committee and described the bill as a repeal of the legal framework that allows counties to establish, own, operate and regulate public scales.
"This bill just eliminates again unnecessary unused statutes that have outlived their purpose," Mitchell said, adding that the authority for counties to purchase and operate scales would remain under another statute (cited in the hearing as "seven-one-two 103"). Mitchell said the county petition process in the old statute has not been used for decades.
Lieutenant Governor Kristin Juras testified in support on behalf of the governor's office, framing HB 430 as part of a red‑tape relief effort. "This is part of our red tape cleanup," Juras said, explaining that the original law dates to 1905 and that review of the code is intended to remove unused provisions.
Eric Copeland, bureau chief for Building and Commercial Measurements at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, appeared as an informational witness and said his bureau certifies scales statewide and was available to answer questions.
Witnesses and staff reported consultation with Mako (the state legal/administrative review group) and said Mako had no concerns about repealing the statute. Committee members had no further questions; Representative Mitchell closed the hearing. Later in the session the committee moved to concur in House Bill 430 and recorded a voice vote with proxies; the chair announced the bill had been concurred in and that Senator Fern would carry the bill on the Senate floor.
Why it matters: HB 430 removes an obsolete statutory process related to county-owned public scales and is presented as part of an effort to simplify and modernize the state code. Department of Labor and Industry staff remain the technical authority for scale certification.
What happens next: The committee concurred in the bill and identified a Senate floor carrier; floor debate and any further amendments will occur in subsequent Senate proceedings.
