The bill that prompted this special legislative session is headed to Gov. Marc Racicot for his signature after the Montana House approved the measure Thursday night. Restoring funding for the programs contained in HB1 led Racicot to call lawmakers together for the four-day session. Meanwhile, legislators also approved a major property tax relief bill Thursday and sent it to the governor as lawmakers sped toward adjournment of their special session.
Kids win, local taxpayers win, local government wins.
The average reduction would be 2.66 percent for one year. That is over and above the 3.5 percent increase the Legislature approved in the regular session last year. It capped the value of residential land at 75 percent of the value of the home or cabin. Economic development House Bill 1 was the first issue debated at the session and held as one of the last pieces of business to deal with before adjournment. The amount contained in the bill in the first year is what was originally sought by Racicot.