By Karli Johnson and Nicole Rolf, Montana Farm Bureau Federation

 

Week 12 in Helena proved to be no less exciting for MFBF lobbyists with many new and old bills to follow. The excitement included many water bills, capital gains tax changes, and wildlife-related bills. The prominent bill of the week was SB 358: Revise exempt water rights laws, which did not go far enough to protect agriculture and  unwisely prioritized uses by allowing more water through the use of exempt wells for subdivision development than for other uses, which was voted down on the Senate floor. MFBF opposed this bill upon introduction but attempted to add amendments to improve the legislation. Unfortunately, amendments that were added to the bill before passing out of Senate Natural Resources raised additional concerns for MFBF surrounding impacts to our water rights, privacy and science. MFBF members from around the state reached out their Senators to express these concerns and the bill went down on Second Reading.  

MFBF shared a soft opposition to HB 868: Revise taxation of net long-term capital gains sponsored by Scott Rosenzweig in House Taxation. The bill creates a tiered capital gains tax rate as opposed to current law that sets forth a flat tax rate. At some levels, this tax rate is lower than the current 4.1% so at those levels, this would be helpful to farmers and ranchers. However, it raises the capital gains tax significantly at levels that would come in to play in some instances. While MFBF members support a reduction in the capital gains rate, this bill will negatively impact farmers and ranchers at the end of their career or who are forced to sell off assets. Although many times people think of capital gains as stock and bonds, in all actuality, capital gains taxes are paid on long-held business assets.  Most of the agriculture related long term investments include land, equipment and livestock. When operational changes result in folks selling off their long-term investments, like land, livestock or equipment, they will see a higher tax rate, which could be quite significant.

HB 886: Provide for water division court judges sponsored by Ken Walsh was heard in House Natural Resources and heavily supported by MFBF. HB 886 ensures a smooth transition from the water court of today to a divisional water court as we near final adjudication of water rights in the state of Montana. The bill goes into detail to set up a process for the selection of two to four judges, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate with public input who serve 6-year terms, to manage water disputes in four divisions created out of Montana’s water basins. The divisions are based on water basin lines fixing the problem of jurisdictional challenges that the district courts often face. HB 886 also gives water right holders the ability to petition to have their cases heard in a district court rather than a divisional court, giving power to the people. In today’s world, a district court's time is heavily taken up by civil and criminal cases. Water disputes can potentially sit for years before being heard, and the presiding judge may not fully understand water law. With this bill, divisional courts will offer timely service to water dispute cases with a judge that is an expert in the water field to properly serve this complex issue while still giving water right holders the opportunity to petition to stay in district court.

The bills continuing on their progress this week included HB 767: Revise county predator control laws to include goats, HB 401: Prohibit the sale of lab-grown meat in the state of Montana, HB 648: Require FWP notification before the release of large predators, HB 411: Exempt agricultural property from open space levies, and HB 155: Revise class four residential and commercial properties. HB 767 and HB 401 were heard in Senate Ag and both passed out of committee the same day. HB 648 has now gained MFBF’s support with the clarifying amendments that were added in the House and was heard in Senate Fish and Game. This bill will require Fish, Wildlife and Parks to provide notice to county commissioners, sheriffs and tribal governments when a bear, wolf or mountain lion is released.

While the tax bills HB 411 and HB 155 were both heard in Senate Taxation, HB 441 which outlines the process to reconcile provisional water permits and changes with adjudicated water rights was heard in Senate Natural Resources and is supported by MFBF.

Nicole Rolf is the Senior Director of Governmental Affairs and a rancher from Miles City, Montana.  Nicole works closely with our Congressional delegation on national issues affecting Montana agriculture. Additionally, this is her ninth Montana Legislative Session, lobbying in Helena on behalf of MFBF members. Nicole can be contacted at nicoler@mfbf.org.

Karli Johnson is the State Governmental Affairs Coordinator and a rancher from Choteau, MT. This is Karli’s first session lobbying on behalf of Montana Farm Bureau although she can be known as an old hand at testifying on Grizzly Bear bills before she came onto staff. Karli will focus on water and wildlife issues throughout the legislative session while also serving as the Northwest Regional Manager. Karli can be contacted at karlij@mfbf.org.