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House transportation committee backs bill to remove statutorily named MDT divisions amid aviation concerns
Summary
The House Transportation Committee voted to advance House Bill 487, which would remove statutory language requiring five named divisions at the Montana Department of Transportation; proponents said the change grants needed flexibility, while pilots and aviation groups urged preserving aeronautics as a distinct program.
A Montana House Transportation Committee advanced House Bill 487 on a voice vote after a public hearing in which the bill sponsor and the Montana Department of Transportation argued the change would let the agency modernize its internal structure.
Representative Julie Darling, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure "is simply going to eliminate the requirement to have certain divisions and enables the agency to modernize how it does business." She said the statutory listing of five divisions — highways, aeronautics, administration, rail/transit and motor carriers — is an outlier among executive branch agencies and can impede organizational flexibility.
Chris Dorrington, director of the Montana Department of Transportation, testified the bill merely removes the named-division requirement and gives the director tools to reorganize for faster program delivery. "I need tools. I need flexibility," Dorrington said, arguing the change would not alter program duties or the protected nature of dedicated funds.
Opponents from the aviation community urged caution. Tim Robertson, president of the Montana Pilots Association, said aviation "provides a critically important and unique function in our state" and asked the committee to consider amending the bill to preserve aeronautics as a required division. Brad Schuster, representing the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, asked the committee to issue a "do not pass recommendation" unless the bill is amended to keep the Montana Aeronautics Division named in statute, citing FAA requirements and dedicated funding for aviation.
Committee members pressed both sides on practical impacts. Representatives asked for FTE counts and how duties would be redistributed; the department provided staffing numbers (aeronautics "nearly 12 FTE," engineering about 381, motor carriers 125, transit/planning about 100, administration 51) and said statutory program obligations and restricted funding (including Title 67 protections for aeronautics) would remain in place.
After the hearing, the committee reconvened for executive action and Vice Chair Baum moved that HB487 "do pass." The committee recorded proxy votes and the chair announced that the bill passed the House Transportation Committee and will proceed from committee.
The committee’s action sends HB487 forward while leaving open the possibility of floor amendments; opponents asked that specific language preserving aeronautics be considered in later stages. The committee recessed after the vote to continue with other business.
