Senator pitches bill to protect long‑time cabin lessees on state trust lands

Sen. Laura Smith, sponsor of SB 500, told the House Natural Resources Committee she brought the bill to protect families who have lived for generations in cabins on state trust lands and who fear being outbid when the state solicits sales. "I call this bill the Montana Family Legacy Cabin Act," Smith said, describing examples in which family cabin owners say they were outbid by buyers from outside the state.

Supporters who spoke during the hearing were not present in the room; the committee heard instead from Frank Cote, who identified himself as representing the state auditor and serving as a member of the State Land Board. Cote said the Land Board and state law impose a fiduciary obligation to obtain "the full market value" for trust lands. He cited the Montana Constitution and Title 77, arguing the enabling act and state law require the trust be administered to "secure the largest measure of legitimate and reasonable advantage to the state." Cote told the panel that competitive bidding has produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional proceeds on a small group of recent tracts, and urged the committee to oppose SB 500.

Ryan Weiss, deputy administrator for State Trust Lands at DNRC, appeared as an informational witness and described the voluntary cabin‑site sale program created by 2013 legislation. Weiss said the program requires an appraisal and land board approval and typically takes nine to 12 months; lessees who nominate lots may withdraw if they dispute an appraised minimum bid or may challenge appraisal determinations before an administrative law judge. Weiss provided recent sale counts—29 lots in 2023, seven in 2024 and two so far this year—and said in many cases the nominating lessee was the high bidder.

During committee questioning, members asked whether any primary residences had been sold "against their will" and about the size of typical lease payments. Weiss said he was not aware of a case where a primary residence was forcibly sold against the occupant and estimated lease payments vary widely—from several thousand dollars a year at the low end to roughly $50,000 a year in high‑end locations such as Flathead Lake.

In closing, Smith reiterated that the bill restores prior statutory language to give long‑term lessees additional protection against being priced out, and pointed to examples she said show winning bids rising between about 20% and 110% in contested sales. The committee closed the hearing without taking a vote.

Next steps: the committee will consider amendments and executive action at a later date; no formal action on SB 500 occurred at this hearing.