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Committee tables bill to expand levy-election voting to some property owners after broad opposition
Summary
House Bill 799, which would have allowed certain property owners to vote in local mill levy elections where they do not reside, was tabled by the House Taxation Committee 16-5 after opposition from school boards, cities and counties citing constitutional, fairness and administrative concerns.
The House Taxation Committee on Tuesday tabled House Bill 799, which sought to expand the definition of qualified electors in voted mill levy elections to include certain property owners who do not reside in the taxing jurisdiction. The motion to table was approved on a roll-call vote, 16-5.
Representative Terry Falk, the bill sponsor, said he wanted property owners who pay taxes on property in a jurisdiction to have a voice in levy elections when they are Montana residents, but acknowledged the difficulty of drafting carve-outs and handling commercial entities and nonprofits. “I think we could easily over complicate this,” Falk said during his opening.
Opponents warned the bill would conflict with the Montana Constitution and could allow nonresident or corporate entities to vote in local elections. Lance Melton of the Montana School Boards Association, representing a coalition of education organizations, told the committee the draft “flatly contradicts article 4 section 2 of the Montana constitution” and could allow corporations or foreign entities to vote under the bill's definitions. “What this bill authorizes is a foreign citizen or a foreign corporation to vote in a local school district,” Melton said.
Mayors and city officials testified in opposition as well. Andrea Davis, mayor of Missoula, said, “I do not believe that an out of state property owner... has the right to vote for what is happening in your community.” Danny Hess, representing the city of Bozeman, said the proposal would give undue influence to out-of-state owners while many local residents are renters.
Sponsor Falk said he did not intend to allow out-of-state voters and said he would limit the proposal to Montana residents and consider carve-outs for commercial property; he also noted complications with LLC ownership and multiple properties. After debate, Representative Konauer moved to table the bill; the committee approved the motion on a roll-call vote, 16-5.
Ending: HB 799 was tabled; opponents urged that election law and constitutional definitions of electors require careful drafting and that extending voting rights to nonresidents raises fairness and administrative questions.
