Bill would let entrepreneurs apply for Montana garbage‑hauler permits without prior hauling experience

Representative Brad Barker, sponsor of House Bill 517, told the House Energy Committee that Montana’s current motor‑carrier law can be read to require applicants already be in the trash business before they may obtain a class D garbage‑hauler permit. "As the law reads plain language, you have to be in the trash business to get into the trash business," Barker said, urging lawmakers to clarify the code so in‑state entrepreneurs can apply to the PSC.

The bill seeks to add clearer language around the phrase "intends to engage," which Barker said some read as barring new entrants. "I simply want to make this a little bit more free market approach to allow entrepreneurs to ... apply," he said, while stressing the change would not alter protected territories, the PSC’s licensing process or the PSC’s authority to…