Panel hears bill to let Montana National Guard use troop labor for state projects to expand training and cut costs

Representative George Nikokakos, R-Great Falls, introduced House Bill 53 to permit the Montana Department of Military Affairs to use troop labor for certain projects so training and real-world construction tasks can occur simultaneously.

"House bill 53 is a common sense piece of legislation that allows troop labor to execute certain projects," Nikokakos said, telling the committee the measure aims to give units such as Red Horse and civil engineer components more practical training opportunities while reducing construction costs.

Major General Pete Hronek, adjutant general for the state of Montana, described the operational and training benefits and urged support. "This provision will allow for troop labor to execute projects, which will not only provide impactful training opportunities, but will streamline our project execution and decrease construction costs and efficiencies," he said, and told the committee project savings "are as great as 75%" in some examples.

Ronick/Hronek testified that one illustrative project — a recent project described in testimony at an estimated $1,700,000 — showed a potential cost reduction of roughly 75 percent when troop labor was used. He told the committee the change would allow troops to perform work during already funded annual training days rather than hiring outside contractors, and said federal funding for projects is awarded competitively at the National Guard Bureau level.

Supporters included veterans groups and the American Legion Department of Montana. Mike Talia, speaking for veterans' organizations, said meaningful work during drill improves training: "How much better can their training be when it's not training, but it's them doing their actual job?" Roger Hagan, who testified as an individual with long ties to veteran organizations and the Red Horse unit, urged support as well.

Committee members asked how training differs from construction and how cost savings are calculated. Sponsor Nikokakos and Major General Hronek said the bill would combine training and real-world construction so that federally funded training days are used to complete permanent projects, producing efficiencies.

The bill includes an amendment intended to address concerns from labor organizations by clarifying bidding language; Nikokakos said he worked with labor groups to avoid creating large-scale no-bid contracts.

No committee vote on HB 53 was recorded in the transcript excerpt. The sponsor asked for a do-pass recommendation and the hearing concluded.