Montana bill would let MDT reduce utility relocation reimbursements after repeated noncompliance and set rulemaking process

Representative Courtney Sprunger introduced House Bill 672 on the House Transportation Committee floor as a measure aimed at shortening delays on highway construction projects caused by slow or uncertain utility relocations. The bill would preserve the state’s existing relocation reimbursement program (currently capped at 75% of a utility’s costs) while adding authority for the Montana Department of Transportation to reduce that reimbursement — incrementally down to zero — if a utility repeatedly fails to relocate facilities after notice.

The bill sponsor told the committee the proposal grew out of “very personally lived experience” on a project that sat idle for six weeks while a utility failed to relocate on a predictable schedule. Sprunger said the bill is intended to “defend the taxpayer” by…