Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sponsor disputes fiscal note for scholarship-organization bill; amendment to cut departmental staffing planned
Summary
Sen. Sue Vinton said the fiscal note for SB253 overstates Department of Revenue staffing needs for certifying student scholarship organizations; the department requested two FTEs, while the sponsor and some senators argued much work would be done by the organizations and an amendment to reduce FTEs is being drafted.
Senator Sue Vinton, R-District 20, presented SB253, which revises laws relating to student scholarship organizations. Vinton said she filed a rebuttal to the fiscal note and believes the department's staffing estimate is excessive.
Ross Izard of ACE Scholarships testified in support, describing ACE as the largest statewide scholarship organization and saying the bill would strengthen Montana's Big Sky program.
Jake Ford, income and withholding taxes bureau chief at the Department of Revenue, provided informational testimony and explained the department requested two new positions to implement certification, denial and appeal processes and website-posting requirements. Ford said 25 student scholarship organizations are currently registered with the department but that not all may have received donations recently.
Committee members pressed both sponsor and department on workload and cost. Senator Ellis asked whether the department truly required two positions; Vinton said the activities would largely be performed by scholarship organizations and estimated a much smaller departmental need ("one quarter of an FTE"). Ford defended the request as necessary to design and manage an approval process and to handle denials and appeals.
Senator Cuff asked how many individual scholarships might be involved; Vinton said she did not have a count. Ford explained the approval and monitoring tasks (verifying 501(c)(3) status, ensuring at least 90% of donations go to scholarship awards, maintaining public website links) and said the estimate reflected the department's assessment of time for review, denials and potential appeals.
The hearing concluded with the sponsor saying she would seek an amendment to reduce the department’s requested FTEs; the chair said that amendment was being drafted and executive action on SB253 would be deferred until it is ready.
