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Bill would route vending-machine commissions into a state account to fund Montana's Blind Enterprise Program
Summary
Representative Valerie Moore introduced HB161 to create a state special revenue 'vending machine' account for commissions that support the Blind Enterprise Program; DPHHS said about $13,009.92 was collected last year and the Randolph–Sheppard Act underpins the program.
Representative Valerie Moore opened House Bill 161, saying the Blind Enterprise Program (BEP) — originally established in the 1930s — was intended to provide employment opportunities for people who are blind by licensing vending operations on federal and state properties. Moore said non-blind vendors operating on some state properties currently send commissions to the state and that HB161 would create a state special revenue account to collect those funds and appropriate them to the Department of Public Health and Human Services for BEP purposes.
Chanda Hermanson, Division Administrator for Employment and Transitions at DPHHS, described how the BEP (also called the Business Enterprise Program) licenses legally blind vendors to operate vending machines and cafeterias on federal and state properties. She said the program was previously managed under contract; since the program moved in-house in September the checks have been routed to the state and, until the account is created, are being held in a donation account. Hermanson said the account created by HB161 would fund equipment, supplies, training, and start-up costs for blind vendors.
Moore pointed to the fiscal note showing $13,009.92 collected last year from non-blind vendors and said HB161 would ensure that money is used for the BEP as originally intended. Committee members asked follow-up questions about where proceeds had been routed historically and whether funds had gone to the general fund; Hermanson said the contractor previously collected and distributed the funds and that the contract was established in the 1980s.
Representative Zephyr asked which federal statute created the program; Hermanson identified the Randolph–Sheppard Act, which she said dates to the 1930s and gives priority to blind vendors on federal property. Representative Moore closed by asking the committee for a 'do pass.' The hearing was closed without a recorded committee vote in the transcript.
