Montana committee hears wide support and opposition for bill raising luxury vehicle fees to fund bridges, victims services and Highway Patrol

Senators on the Senate Transportation Committee heard competing testimony on Senate Bill 324, a package that would convert Montana’s luxury vehicle fee to a 1% charge on a vehicle’s manufacturer’s suggested retail price, transfer $50 million of one‑time general fund money to seed a new Better Local Bridge Fund, create a $10 million Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) grant program requiring local match, direct $2 of an existing $10 registration fee to a victims of crime account, and provide ongoing revenue to the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP).

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Josh Kasmier, said the measure “creates a better local bridge fund and provide[s] a funding stream for that purpose,” and that it would fund multiple priorities without relying on ongoing general fund appropriations. Ryan Evans, assistant budget director in the governor’s office, told the committee the measure was included in the governor’s budget and described “a nexus between the funding and the expenditures,” noting the proposal would also “eliminate the 3% administrative fee imposed … as they register their vehicle.”

Why it matters: proponents from counties, transportation and public‑safety agencies said Montana faces a large backlog of deficient off‑system bridges and that local governments lack reliable capital to repair or replace them. County commissioners and MDT officials described hundreds of off‑system bridges in need of work and urged a new dedicated funding stream. Victim services advocates and county attorneys also urged the…