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Appropriations hearing: bill would let governor authorize $3 million biennial for disaster recovery planning and surge staff
Summary
Department of Military Affairs and disaster officials told the House Appropriations Committee that House Bill 334 would authorize up to $3 million each biennium for recovery planning, training and temporary personal services to address gaps that current response funding does not cover.
House Bill 334 would authorize the governor to make up to $3 million available each biennium to the Department of Military Affairs for activities focused on disaster recovery planning, training and financial administration and to provide surge, temporary personal services after disasters.
At a House Appropriations Committee fiscal hearing, Representative Barker, sponsor, asked members to focus on the fiscal note and said the bill follows interim work and a prior study bill. Janae Grotbo, chief financial officer for the Department of Military Affairs, said the state’s existing $16 million disaster appropriation covers most response costs but does not fund sustained recovery capacity. “This bill gives the governor the ability to authorize up to $3,000,000 each biennium for gaps in the disaster recovery program,” Grotbo told the committee.
Delila Bruneau, administrator for disaster and emergency services (DES), described the bill’s three main uses as: responding and recovering from emergencies and disasters where response and recovery overlap (for example, disaster recovery centers and multi-agency resource centers); disaster planning, training and readiness validation; and financial administration and management of surges in funding and claims after disasters. Bruneau said many technical recovery skills are scarce statewide and nationally and contractors often cannot be paid until a presidential disaster declaration establishes federal funding.
Multiple proponents from state and local emergency management offices, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Montana League of Cities and Towns, the Montana Association of Emergency Managers and local fire and emergency services testified in support, emphasizing the potential for the funding to pay for surge staff, training and planning. Tom Kuntz, Red Lodge Fire Rescue chief, said small communities often lack internal recovery expertise and that getting communities back on their feet faster saves money. Doug Bruger of DNRC’s water operations bureau pointed to the value of pre-disaster training for flood recovery.
Committee members asked for clarification on “personal services” in the fiscal note and whether the authorization includes modified temporary FTE for recovery work. Bruneau explained the intent is to allow flexible temporary staffing (for example, a person for one year to finalize plans, then different staff the next year for training) rather than adding permanent positions to the base budget.
No formal action on the bill was recorded in the transcript of this hearing. The bill closed with the sponsor urging a Do Pass and the chair noting the hearing was concluded.
Why it matters: DES and local emergency personnel said a specific recovery-focused funding stream would let Montana fund planning, training and short-term surge staff before or immediately after disasters, instead of relying on response funds or waiting for federal declarations.
