Committee hears testimony on bill to recreate Montana disaster resiliency fund and authorize state matching dollars

Representative Larry Brewster, the sponsor of House Bill 34, told the House Appropriations Committee the bill would re-create a state disaster resiliency fund and provide seed money to attract federal mitigation grants. “The bill before you today authorizes up to a … $15,000,000 appropriation per year and recreates the $100,000,000 fund,” Representative Larry Brewster said, describing transfers of $50 million in 2025 and another $50 million in 2027.

The bill’s supporters told the committee the program so far has leveraged federal grants and paid for hazard-mitigation projects across Montana. “For every state dollar we put on the barrel head, it’s typically matched with three to six federal dollars,” Ryan Evans, assistant budget director in the Governor’s Budget Office, said. He urged the committee to focus testimony on the fiscal note and recommended a do-pass vote.

Why it matters

Proponents said the measure pays for preventative infrastructure upgrades — flood mitigation, grid hardening and wildfire-risk reduction — that lower long-term recovery costs and reduce pressure on local property tax bases. They described past funding rounds as successful: officials told the committee that seed dollars…