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Committee considers cleanup of county licensing statute for transient retail merchants
Summary
House Bill 443 would remove or modernize a decades-old county licensing statute governing transient retail merchants and allow counties to regulate transient vendors by updated means; proponents said it reduces 'code clutter,' while the county association said an amendment preserves local regulatory authority.
Representative Braxton Mitchell presented House Bill 443 as a red-tape reduction measure to repeal or modernize an outdated county statute that regulates transient retail merchants such as fair vendors and fireworks sellers. The sponsor said an amendment under consideration would preserve local governments’ ability to regulate those vendors through ordinances or contracts while removing antiquated bonding and licensing requirements.
Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, speaking for the governor’s office, said the change is part of a broader effort to reduce outdated code sections and said most counties already regulate transient merchants through other local authorities. Jason Rittal of the Montana Association of Counties told the committee that, with the amendment, MACo was no longer opposed and that the change should not disrupt counties that rely on the older statute.
No opponents testified against the amended approach at the hearing, and committee members asked clarifying questions about examples of transient merchants; the lieutenant governor read the statutory definition, which includes vendors who set up temporary premises to solicit sales. The sponsor closed by urging a do-pass, saying the bill reduces administrative clutter and allows counties to continue using other tools to regulate temporary vendors.
The committee closed the hearing without taking action on the bill at that time.
