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Montana Natural Resources committee hears bill to post EPA guidance received by state agencies
Summary
A bill that would require Montana gencies to post EPA guidance they receive drew support as a transparency measure and questions about workload and scope. Agency witnesses said links could be used; the sponsor offered an amendment removing the Board of Oil and Gas Conservation. Hearing closed with no vote.
Representative Carrie Seacens Crowe opened a hearing on House Bill 481, telling the Natural Resources committee that the measure would require the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Agriculture to post on a public website federal guidance they receive from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "We should know what the EPA is telling state agencies," Crowe said, framing the bill as a transparency measure aimed at preventing federal guidance from functioning as de facto rules.
Proponent testimony online came from Steve Johnson of the Center for Practical Federalism, who summarized the bill's rationale: "Guidance is not law," he said, and when agencies treat guidance as binding the public and state officials…
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