Subcommittee forwards fee increase bill for mining permits; members warn revenue may not fully meet audit needs

The Ways and Means Natural Resources Subcommittee moved Senate Bill 836 to the full committee with a due‑pass recommendation on June 3, 2025, after hearing that the measure increases several permit application, annual renewal and tonnage fees for materials extracted under DOGAMI’s authority.

LFO staff told the committee that HB 5010 assumes passage of SB 836 and includes an estimated $3,100,000 of other funds revenue for the 2025–27 biennium tied to the fee changes. The fee increases are intended to support MLRR program operations, including permit processing and regulatory compliance, and would take effect Jan. 1, 2026, if enacted.

Representative Volant said the Senate adopted a dash‑4 amendment that reduced the fee increases from the original proposal; the compromise was negotiated with industry groups, Senator Manning and the governor’s office to reduce “sticker shock.” The representative also quoted agency statements that the compromise would still leave the program short of the staffing levels identified in the external process audit and that another fee increase likely will be needed in the 2027–29 biennium to fully implement audit recommendations.

Committee members asked whether fee programs had been reviewed regularly and whether reliance on fees rather than general fund had driven the need for large increases. LFO staff and other members explained that the MLR program has historically been fee‑funded and that, after budgetary shifts in prior biennia, many natural‑resource programs rely more extensively on user fees for operations.

Representative Lively and others questioned how the backlog of permits would be prioritized if the fee increase still left the program under‑resourced. DOGAMI directoral testimony delivered later in the hearing said permits are processed in the order received and that iterative back‑and‑forth with applicants complicates timing measures; the fee policy option 103 seeks to add capacity to address both agency capacity issues and iterative permit processing.

The subcommittee recorded objections during the amendment and final motions but moved SB 836 to the Ways and Means full committee with a due‑pass recommendation. Members requested continuing accountability through the budget note tied to the DOGAMI appropriation and said they expect a report on progress against the audit recommendations and permit processing metrics in 2027.