House Agriculture committee advances bill to create Montana Cattle Committee after debate on governance and refunds

HELENA — The Montana House Committee on Agriculture voted 10-7 to give House Bill 119 a due-pass recommendation on a motion to move the bill forward to the full House after twice amending the measure.

House Bill 119, introduced by Speaker Lear, would establish the Montana Cattle Committee, set committee membership and duties, create a cattle assessment and referendum for cattle sellers on that assessment, and create a special cattle revenue account, legislative staffer Ms. Shirley told the committee during executive action.

The bill drew multiple amendments and debate over how the committee would be composed, how a referendum would be funded and how cattle sellers could request refunds. "This amendment handles those concerns," Vice Chair Carter told the committee when explaining one of the proposals to increase board membership, add specified nominating groups and to require that funds used for a referendum be donated funds raised for that purpose. "The goal of this bill is to promote state beef and state cattle," Carter said.

An initial amendment (HB119.001) intended as a cleanup measure passed on a voice vote; Representative Griffith explained it removed requirements that could have been interpreted as requiring notarized affidavits and adjusted ballot-language references. A second amendment (HB119.001.002), moved by Vice Chair Carter and designed to expand board membership and change other details, failed on a roll call vote, 7 in favor and 10 opposed.

A third amendment (HB119.001.003) that removed authority for legal defense funding to be used for lobbying and clarified the ballot-mailing and refund process passed by roll call, 10-7. After Ms. Shirley identified a conflict between amendment 1 and amendment 3 in section 11 of the bill, the committee voted to rescind and sequester the conflicting portion of amendment 1 (page 6, section 11, line 12) and then adopted the sequestered change. That resolved the conflict and left the bill with the two adopted amendments.

Opponents raised several concerns during discussion. Representative Darling said the bill "exempts this committee from procurement laws, human state resource laws" and criticized the refund process, which he noted requires a 45-day processing window. "I just think that's onerous," Darling said. Representative Clacken and others said their constituents had mixed reactions and wanted additional work on the proposal. Vice Chair Carter said some stakeholder concerns were not fully addressed and announced she would vote no on the final motion.

Supporters said the bill would give cattle producers a mechanism to promote Montana beef and the option for sellers unhappy with an assessment to request refunds. Representative Teal said he supported the bill: "I like that it puts power into the hands of the cow producers and if at any point they're unhappy with it, they can get a refund."

On the final roll call, the committee recorded 10 votes in favor and 7 opposed, and the committee chair announced that "House Bill 119 has twice amended as passed House Agriculture." The committee did not adopt any change that would immediately implement an assessment; staff clarified the department would use only funds raised specifically to hold a referendum and that no assessment funds would be in the account until an assessment is approved.

The committee's action recommends the bill to the full House with two amendments and with the sequestered adjustment to resolve the conflict between earlier amendments. The bill will proceed to the House floor for further consideration.

Votes at a glance: - Amendment HB119.001 (cleanup; affidavit/ballot wording) — Passed (voice vote); later partially sequestered to resolve a conflict with Amendment 3. - Amendment HB119.001.002 (expand board, representation, quorum changes, funding clarified to donated funds) — Failed, roll call 7 in favor, 10 opposed. - Amendment HB119.001.003 (remove lobbying funding, clarify ballot mailing and refund timing) — Passed, roll call 10 in favor, 7 opposed. - Final motion: HB119 twice amended — Passed, roll call 10 in favor, 7 opposed.

Next steps: The committee recommended the bill to the full House. No further implementation dates were adopted during committee; funding and assessment collections would only occur if and after a successful referendum and any required rulemaking.