Senate committee advances bill to redistribute marijuana tax revenue with law‑enforcement and behavioral‑health priorities

Senator Daniel Zolnikov, sponsor of Senate Bill 537, told the Senate Finance and Claims committee the bill clarifies how Montana would distribute marijuana tax revenue and aims to prevent an unintended cut by setting a $6,000,000 floor (or 10%, whichever is more) for the heart fund. "If I put the amount of $6,000,000, or 10%, whatever is more, then that would fix that dip that was never intended," Zolnikov said during his opening remarks.

The bill allocates specific percentages to several funds and programs: a 31% share to the Department of Justice for law‑enforcement grants (including a $50,000 base grant for each police department, sheriff's office and tribal police department and the remainder distributed per police‑officer per capita), 14% to the Behavioral Health System fund, 6.5% for prevention (drug and alcohol use), 2.5% to DOJ for criminal investigation/testing and K‑9 training, and 1.5% for sexual‑assault exam kits, among other buckets. Zolnikov said some percentages were recommended by subject‑matter groups and that the DOJ had indicated the additional funding would be helpful.

Proponents highlighted programmatic uses. Ella Smith of the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness urged support for the fiscal note and noted up to $2,000,000 from the heart fund could be used for case management at shelters, which she described as an evidence‑based approach to reducing homelessness and related public‑safety and uncompensated health costs. "Case management is an evidence based practice in addressing homelessness," Smith said. Ingrid Lovett, government‑relations director for Schauder Children's Hospital, told the committee that a continuous allocation for behavioral health would support initiatives identified by the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Commission, which she said had identified near‑term initiatives and recommendations that could be sustained with ongoing funding.

Committee members probed the fiscal note and allocation math. Senator McGilvray raised apparent inconsistencies between charts in the fiscal note and recommended consulting the budget office to reconcile differences. Senator Mandeville warned that inserting hard floors could make percentage allocations unsustainable if revenue declines and asked whether the sponsor was concerned about running out of money; Zolnikov responded that the proposal assumes revenue will grow over time but acknowledged prioritization may be necessary if revenues drop. Senator Cuff asked why counties and roads—funding recipients in earlier marijuana proposals—were not included; Zolnikov said this bill prioritizes law enforcement supply needs and base grants to ensure rural departments have basic resources.

After discussion the committee moved into executive action. An unidentified member moved a "do pass" recommendation on SB 537 and the committee conducted a voice vote; the chair announced the motion carried and recorded that Senate Bill 537 passed the Senate Finance and Claims committee.

The bill will proceed per the usual legislative process and any technical inconsistencies in the fiscal note identified during questioning were referred to the budget office and to the sponsor for amendment if necessary.