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Committee hears governor-requested proposal to fund $2 million in one-time grants to shelters, sponsor says county allocation prevents duplication

2386499 · February 24, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

House Bill 310 would appropriate $2 million in one-time grants for emergency shelters, administered by the Department of Commerce with a 0.75 FTE for grant administration. Sponsor and proponents emphasized flexible fund use for staffing and operations, a per-county cap and point system to encourage geographic distribution.

House Bill 310 would authorize a one-time $2 million grant program administered by the Department of Commerce to provide matching grants to homeless shelters across Montana. Sponsor Representative Nicole (transcript: "Nicola Caucus") said the program is designed to distribute funds by county (maximum $250,000 per county) and to use a point system that rewards geographic diversity and encourages collaboration among multiple shelters within a county.

Sponsor testimony framed the program as flexible funding shelters can use primarily for staff and operations, noting that infrastructure grants awarded last session (a separate construction program funded with $5 million) had limited applicants. The Department of Commerce’s fiscal witness (Mandy Rambo, Deputy…

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