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Appropriations committee hears and advances several vehicle bills for budget cleanup and transmittal
Summary
Committee heard House Bills 862 and 863—budget/transmittal vehicles described as placeholders the committees can use late in session to amend technical or substantive language needed for House Bill 2 and other major measures. Committee members discussed risks and procedures; HB 863 received a do-pass recommendation in executive action.
Chair Lou Jones presented House Bills 862 and 863 to the House Appropriations Committee as vehicle bills to preserve a vehicle for late-session technical fixes and transmittal to the Senate.
Representative Jones said these bills are commonly used by appropriations committees to house last-minute fixes, corrections, or companion language that must move across chambers before final negotiations on the biennial budget. He described House Bill 862 as a short-term placeholder and House Bill 863 as the transmitted vehicle. Jones explained the bills’ mechanics and why the committee typically maintains such vehicles to avoid procedural constraints late in session.
Mandy Rambo, deputy director of the Montana Department of Commerce, testified in support of HB 863 to provide spending authority for the Montana Trade Commission account created in recent legislation; the bill would permit Commerce to spend any fundraising dollars in the newly created account. Heather O’Loughlin of the Montana Budget and Policy Center supported the bill’s underlying purpose but asked that, if the vehicle is substantively changed in the other body, appropriations be given an opportunity for a hearing so the public can comment while language is substantively altered in finance and claims.
Committee members discussed the institutional risk that these vehicles could be used to add substantive items beyond what was expected. Vice Chair Cafaro and other members emphasized the committee’s prerogative to resist “mischief” or substantive additions that have not been reviewed by the appropriations committee; the chair noted existing rules require referring substantively amended bills back for a committee hearing. Representative Jones closed by urging careful use of the vehicles. The committee later took executive action on House Bill 863 and recorded a do-pass recommendation; roll-call showed 19 yes and 4 no on the motion to advance HB 863.
