Senate Local Government advances permit-reporting bill, OKs county 25-mph option and youth-sports fee cap; detention-hygiene bill heard

The Montana Senate Local Government Committee on Feb. 28 advanced a package of bills touching on property-tax reporting, local speed limits, short-term rental rules and youth-sports fees, and held a hearing on minimum hygiene supplies for people jailed in county facilities.

The committee voted to give a due-pass recommendation to Senate Bill 404, which would require counties and the Department of Labor & Industry to send copies of building and electrical permits to the Department of Revenue (DOR) within 30 days so DOR can identify newly constructed residential market value for taxation. Sponsors and auditors told the committee the change aims to reduce missed new-construction value that an audit estimated to be about 14% of residential new construction captured by current processes.

Why it matters: Legislative auditors told the committee that incomplete permit reporting can leave substantial residential value off local tax rolls and that a simple reporting step could help DOR locate and appraise new construction for taxation. Supporters said the measure is designed to improve tax equity by ensuring new improvements are identified and taxed appropriately.

Key items the committee acted on

- SB 404 (permit reporting to Department of Revenue): Sponsor: Senator Fern. The sponsor said an audit found an average of roughly $300 million per year in new residential construction market value not being identified; the bill would require local governments or DLI to forward building or electrical permits to the DOR field office for the county where the building is located within one month. Department of Revenue staff said DOR sometimes finds permit data by searching DLI web pages but that an automated transmission would reduce staff time. The committee adopted an amendment removing language referencing now-reduced local field-office counts; Senator Fern moved that amendment and it passed by voice vote. Vice Chair Beard moved a due-pass recommendation on the bill as amended; the bill passed out of committee (one member recorded a nay). Outcome: due pass (passed out of committee as amended). (Provenance: first hearing remarks on the bill, later amendment and voice vote.)

- SB 428 (county speed limits of 25 mph in urban districts): Sponsor: Willis Curdy (Senate District 49). The bill would let counties set speed limits as low as 25 mph on county roads located in an "urban district" (defined in the bill as an area where structures are spaced 100 feet or less for at least a quarter mile) and would allow a county to post 25 mph on paved county roads outside urban districts. Missoula County Public Works and other proponents said county commissioners want legal authority to align posted limits with neighborhood conditions; the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) staff clarified that the bill applies to roads outside MDT jurisdiction (jurisdictional state routes remain under MDT/Transportation Commission speed-setting processes). Committee members and proponents discussed school-zone authority and the statutory mechanics for local authorities to change limits. The committee gave the bill a due-pass recommendation; a roll-call showed the committee passed SB 428 (recorded tally 8 yes, 3 no). Outcome: passed out of committee. (Provenance: sponsor introduction; roll-call and final vote.)

- SB 336 (short-term rentals — code changes and local restrictions): Sponsor: Senator Hertz (bill author). Committee members adopted a multi-page amendment that revised several definitions (including changing the primary-residence test from 183 days to seven months and adding a legal-nonconforming-use protection for short-term rentals that complied with state licensing and taxing rules when a jurisdiction later restricted them). An additional amendment proposed by Senator Fern (to broaden an owner's right to rent an accessory dwelling on the owner's primary-residence property) failed on a roll-call (4 yes, 7 no). After amendment, the committee passed SB 336 as amended. Outcome: passed out of committee as amended. (Provenance: amendment text read to committee; roll-call on the Fern amendment; final voice vote.)

- SB 337 (tax prepayment exemption for new lots): Sponsor: Senator Hertz. The bill would let purchasers prepay certain property taxes and receive a temporary tax-rate exemption (the fiscal note posted online estimated state general-fund costs rising from tens of thousands to roughly $150,000 annually in later years, depending on uptake). The committee passed the bill. Outcome: passed out of committee. (Provenance: sponsor explanation and committee voice vote.)

- SB 400 (owner-consent process for HOAs): Sponsor: Senator Bogner. The committee adopted an amendment clarifying waiver/consent procedures and then passed the bill as amended on a roll-call. Outcome: passed out of committee as amended. (Provenance: opening remarks; amendment; roll-call.)

- SB 362 (firefighter qualification changes): Sponsor: Senator T. Zack (sponsor referred to bill as Firefighter I qualifications). The committee passed the bill by voice vote. Outcome: passed out of committee. (Provenance: sponsor reminder and voice vote.)

- SB 418 (home-based-business protections): Sponsor: Senator Boldman. The bill would limit local regulation of low-impact home-based businesses (criteria include no on-street parking demand, activity occurring inside the residence, and not visible from the street); proponents included the Montana Chamber of Commerce and small-business groups. The League of Cities and Towns opposed the bill, urging local governments need the flexibility to manage neighborhood disputes. The committee passed the bill. Outcome: passed out of committee. (Provenance: sponsor presentation; proponents and opponents; final voice vote.)

- SB 420 (caps on youth-sports fees at public fields): Sponsor: Senator Ellie Boldman. The bill would cap charges to people under 18 using a local-government sports field at no more than $25 per month or $10 for up to three consecutive play days; it exempts municipally operated aquatic centers and ice rinks and includes a carve-out for existing contracts entered before July 1, 2025. The sponsor described local examples of steep fees and cited national research about rising youth-sports costs; cities and towns opposed the bill, saying field rental and user fees fund repair, maintenance and long-term bonds for facilities. After committee amendment protecting preexisting contracts, the committee passed SB 420 on roll-call (recorded tally: 10 yes, 1 no). Outcome: passed out of committee as amended. (Provenance: sponsor testimony; League of Cities opposition; final roll call and result.)

- SB 485 (county detention centers — hygiene and basic supplies): Sponsor: Senator Ellie Baldwin. The bill would require county detention centers to provide, at no cost on admission or request, basic hygiene and stationary items such as soap, toilet paper, toothbrush/toothpaste, comb, and sanitary products for women; it also proposed limited stationery items and postage. Proponents (including formerly incarcerated witnesses) called the measure a basic-dignity standard; representatives of sheriffs and county jails said most facilities already provide these items but asked for a technical change to limit the law to a "reasonable quantity" per person to prevent misuse and to avoid imposing an unfunded county mandate. The committee held the bill for a fiscal note (the Department of Corrections said it provides similar items for state inmates). Outcome: hearing held; no committee passage pending fiscal note and a suggested technical fix. (Provenance: sponsor introduction; proponents and opponents; sheriff association amendment suggestion.)

Votes at a glance (committee action summary)

- SB 404 — Due pass as amended (mover: Vice Chair Beard; amendment moved by Senator Fern). Tally: not specified in transcript; one member recorded a nay. (See body for details.) - SB 428 — Passed out of committee (roll-call recorded 8 yes, 3 no). - SB 336 — Passed out of committee as amended (one proposed Fern amendment failed, 4 yes/7 no on that amendment). - SB 337 — Passed out of committee. - SB 363 — Passed out of committee. - SB 400 — Passed out of committee as amended (roll call; committee recorded votes during the session). - SB 362 — Passed out of committee. - SB 418 — Passed out of committee. - SB 420 — Passed out of committee as amended (roll-call recorded 10 yes, 1 no). - SB 485 — Hearing only; no passage pending fiscal note and suggested technical change (committee asked for fiscal note).

What committee members and staff emphasized

- Auditors and DOR staff said incomplete permit reporting can leave taxable residential value uncounted; SB 404 aims to create a routine electronic notification to DOR. - MDT staff stressed the bill on local 25-mph limits applies to county roads outside MDT jurisdiction and does not change state jurisdiction for state highways or the Transportation Commission's authority. - Cities and towns warned that capping youth fees could reduce funds available for long-term maintenance, repair and replacement of athletic fields and facilities; sponsors urged the change to protect low-income children’s access to local recreation. - County sheriffs urged a narrow, technical change to the detention-hygiene bill to limit "unlimited" distributions and to avoid unfunded county mandates.

What’s next

Several bills that passed the committee will move to the next step in the legislative process; SB 485 remains active but was held pending a fiscal note and a suggested amendment to limit distributions to a reasonable quantity per detained person. Other bills heard with fiscal notes pending will be scheduled for executive action when those notes are posted.

— Meeting coverage by CitizenPortal; reporting is based only on committee remarks and public testimony recorded in the Feb. 28 committee transcript. No outside facts or assumptions were added.