HomeMy WebLinkAboutMT League - Legislative #2001-2MONTANA LEAGUE OF CITIES AND TOWNS
P. O. Box 1704, Helena, Montana 59624
(406) 442-8768 (406) 442-9231 FAX
website: ralct.org
LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN #2001-2
President's Message to the Membership
Dear League Members:
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FEB 8 2001 D
CITY OF LAUREL
The 2001 Legislature is considering numerous bills that will limit the authority, deplete the revenues or
add to the costs and complications of municipal government. The bills the League is opposing (listed
on the enclosed report) singularly or in various combinations will weaken city governments and make it
more difficult for mayors and councils to provide services and build better communities.
I ask all of my colleagues in municipal government to take the time to write or call their representatives
in the Legislature to support the position of the League on the listed measures. I also think it is important
to remind your delegations to stand up for their hometowns by resisting the attempts of special interest
groups to bypass local authority by referring these and other issues to the Legislature.
There are many new members in the Legislature this year, and for this reason it is more important than
ever to communicate with those people who are representing you in Helena. We have a chance to do
some good things this winter. At the same time, there is always the possibility that the Legislature will
enact laws that will cause serious problems for local governments. These possibilities will play out in the
next three months, and I hope that all of you will join me and the officers and directors of the League to
do everything in our power to assure a favorable result.
Assault on Local Government
Mayor Colleen McCarthy
President
As Mayor Colleen McCarthy of Helena indicates in her message, members of the 2001 Legislature have
introduced a torrent of bills that would restrict the authority of city and town governments, to deal with a
broad range of issues that cover the index in Title 7 from annexation to zoning. Term limits took out a lot
of incumbent Senators and Representatives, but they did not restrict the flow of bad ideas. Legislators
retrieved old notions about the power of the State to interfere in the business of local government from the
archives, dusted them off and introduced them as the salvation of free enterprise or individual rights.
These bills, if passed, will diminish local control and add to the costs and complications of operating city
governments across Montana.
The list attached to this bulletin shows the bills that cities and towns are opposing in this session of the
Legislature. Committees have tabled or amended some of these measures, and scheduled others for
hearing in the next two weeks. I ask members of the League to go through the list of bills and to contact
their Senators and Representatives immediately about issues they believe will have a negative effect on
city government.
Mayor Mike Kadas in a memorandum to members of the Missoula delegation earlier this week wrote: "A
local governing body, elected by the same people who elect the Legislature, that meets throughout the
year in a place where affected constituents have easy access is much more likely to come to informed,
reasoned and reasonable decisions regarding the pros and cons of a wide variety of issues than a body
convening in Helena for ninety days every other year.".
This statement gets right to the strange business that is going on in Helena this winter. Members
introduce bills at the request of constituents to address disputes that are the legitimate responsibility of
local government. Their purpose is to solve a little problem back home, but the laws that come out the
other end apply statewide and interfere with the operation of every city and town across the state. This
has been going on for years, but the move to centralized state authority seems to be broader and more
aggressive in this session of the Legislature.
I ask all of you to write letters, send fax messages and make telephone calls to your Legislators in
opposition to specific bills, but also to deliver the message that the Legislature should concentrate on state
issues and leave the business of local government to those back home who were elected to do the job.
ADA Required Signs Available from ICMA
Does your city building have at least one employee or public entrance that is not wheelchair accessible? If
you answer, "Yes", current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations (35.163) require that you
mount ADA signs at every employee and public entrance, whether accessible or not. In response to these
requirements, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) now offers a City/County
Entrance Sign Kit to help cities cost-effectively comply with current ADA entrance sign rules. Each Sign
Kit includes the number of 10x12 inch blue and white reflective aluminum signs you need to mark your
city facility entrances, as well as specific mounting materials and instructions and ADA City/County Sign
Guidelines. All Kit text materials have been reviewed by ADA Technical Assistance Center - Region V.
To obtain the City/County Entrance Sign Kit from ICMA, count the number of accessible and
inaccessible entrances to your city facilities (which are not currently marked with ADA signs) so that
ICMA will know how marry of each type of sign to include with your Kit. Then, call the ICMA ADA sign
staff, toll free at 1-877-232-5487, or fax/send a purchase order to ADA HIT-ICMA Sign Project, 56
Salem Lane, Evanston, IL 60203, Fax (847) 568-9485. Your Kit cost is $20 per sign ordered plus $9.50
shipping and handling. Please Note: Inaccessible entrance signs have right/left arrows on each sign to
direct people to the nearest accessible entrance, as required by law. All Kits include free updates.
Additional custom signs for entrances as well as interior Braille classroom/offce signs are also available.
HOUSE BILLS
HB 11 W- Fund Treasure state endowment projects- (Kasten) Hearing 1118/01 (H) Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on
Long Range Planning
HB 16 W- Coal Tax- Coal Tax loan for heritage tourism (Somerville) Hearing 1123/01 (H) Taxation
HB 18 W- Temporary Speed Limit- Allow temporary speed lime pending permanent speed limit. (Somerville ) Hearing
1/17101 (H) Transportation
HB 23 S- Debt Limits- Generally revise local government debt limits and certain bonding provisions. (Erickson ) Hearing
119101 (H) Taxation
HB 37 W- Mill Levy- Revise mill levy certification. (Witt) Hearing 1110/01 (H) Taxation
HB 40 W- Regional Water System Funding- Coal tax for treasure state endowment regional water system funding. (Witt)
Hearing 1/8/01 (H) Natural Resources
HB 43 W- Emergency Grants- Treasure state endowment program emergency grants. (Holden) Hearing 1/10101 (H)
Appropriations
HB 56 S- Ambulance Service- Ambulance Service exception to insurance code. (Lawson) Hearing 1/26/01(S) Business and
Labor
HB 61 W- Eauioment Tax- Eliminate phase out of business equipment tax. (Erickson) Hearing 1/12/01 (H) Taxation
HB 73 W- Accounting Pilot Program- Full cost accounting pilot program. (Brown) Hearing 1/9/01 (H) Business and Labor
HB 88 W- Telecommunications Infrastructure- Include advanced telecommunications infrastructure in treasure state
endowment. (Undeen) Hearing 1/9101 (1T) Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications
HB 92 S- Land use grants- Appropriate funds for land use planning grants. (Gillan ) Hearing 1/12/01 (H) Natural Resources
HB 124 S- Revise local government funding. (Story) Hearing 1/25/01 (H) Local Government
HB 188 W- Video Gaming- Transfer portion of video gaming revenue to horse racing counties. (Clark) Hearing 1/26/01 (H)
Appropriations
HB 231 W- Monthly Pension- Revise monthly pension for volunteer firefighters. (Lawson) Hearing 1116/01 (H) State
Administration
HB 256 W- Revise governmental accountability act. (Clancy) Hearing 1/22/01 (H) Judiciary
HB 275 S- Revise local government powers requiring delegation. (Peterson)
HB 276 W- Revise laws governing municipal and justices' courts. (Peterson) Hearing 1124/01 (H) Judiciary
HB 285 O- Revise laws on utility use of public right-of-way. (Bitney)
FIB 289 O- Organization of municipality- Eliminate distance restrictions on organization of municipality. (Waddill )
HB 298 S- State Building codes- Allow local government adoption of state building codes by administrative action. (Facey )
Hearing 1130/01 (H) Local Government
HB 302 W- Clarify liability for fire suppression costs. (Haines) Hearing 1/19/01 (H) Business and Labor
HB 304. W- Subdivision Regulations- Revise provisions for more stringent local subdivision regulations. (Clancy) Hearing
2/2/01 (H) Natural Resources _
HB 339 W- Arbitration for law enforcement. (Somerville) Hearing 1/25/01 (H) Business and Labor
O- Disapprove Annexation- Eliminate petition to disapprove annexation- require vote. (Raser) Hearing 218/01 (H)
HB 356 Natural Resources
HB 357 W- Video 92Ming tax- Allocate % of video gaming tax to horse racing breeder purses & other purposes. (Fuchs)
HB 367 S. Newly Constructed Improvements- Revise assessment and taxation of newly constructed improvements.
(Facey) Hearing 1/31/01 (11) Taxation
HB 370 W- Lobbying- Prohibit state employees from lobbying. (Peterson) Hearing 1/26/01 (H) State Administration
HB 371 S- Street Maintenance- Include sidewalk improvement in street maintenance district. (Lee )
HB 382 O- Landlord-Tenant law- Limit local government powers in area of landlord-tenant law. (Whitaker) Hearing 1/30/01(1)
Business and Labor
HB 392 W- Rural Technical Assistance- Increase funding for rural technical assistance program. (Masolo )
HB 404 O- Annexation- Allow vote on annexation of surrounded land. (Wanzeried )
HB 409 S- Local Government Health Plan- Exempt local government health benefit plans from levy cap. (Peterson )
HB 430 W- Grants- Provide Grants for airport courtesy cars. (Clancy) Hearing 2/2/01 (H) Transportation
HB 445 W- Electricity- Extend consumer rate moratorium for electricity. (Gallik )
HB 452 W- Retirement option- Deferred retirement option plan for municipal police. (Whitaker)
HB 453 W- Annexation- Temporary moratorium on annexation. (Wanzenried)
HB 457 O- Building Codes- Building code enforcement in extended jurisdictional area. (Haines )
HB 470 W- Economic Development- Economic development levy and port levy outside of levy cap. (Keane)
HB 474 W- Energy Laws- Revise energy laws pertaining to large customers. (Slicer)
HB 498 W- Landfills- Revise laws governing landfills. (Branae )
SENATE BILLS
SS 19 W- Electricity Supply- Delay the implementation of full customer choice in electricity supply. (Halingan )
SS 22 W- Electric Utility Restructuring Act- An act repealing the Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Act. (Bishop )
SS 32 A- Safety Culture Act- Citations for safety culture act violations. (Shea) Hearing 1/10/01 (S) Business and Labor
SB 37 W- Retiree Hours- Increase retiree hours of public employment limit. (Mahlum) Hearing 1/22/01 (H) State
Administration
SB 41 W. Public Safety Officers- Require certification of public safety communications officers. (Roush ) Hearing 118101 (S)
Pub lic Health, Welfare and Safety
SB 56 W. Modify Universal System benefits credits. (McNutt) Hearing 119/01 (S) Energy and Telecommunications
S857 W- Extend universal system benefits charge (Johnson) Hearing 1/18/01 (S) Energy and Telecommunications
SB 61 S- Revise volume cap bond law. (Johnson) Hearing 118/01 (S) State Administration
SB 62 W- Mill Creek Highway- Designate Mill Creek highway as secondary highway. (McCarthy) Hearing 1/16/01 (S)
Highways and Transportation
SB 73 W- Motor Vehicle Revenue- Generally revise distribution of motor vehicle revenue. (Glaser) Hearing 1/25101 (S) Local
Government
SB 98 W- Disability Benefits- Revise permanent partial disability benefits. (Mahlum ) Hearing 1/31/01 (S) Business and Labor
SB 127 S- Lodging Facility Tax- Increase lodging facility tax by 2 cents to fund local government. (Bohlinger) Hearing 1/25/01
(S) Taxation
SB 137 S- State-local relationshiass- Establish state-local relationships interim committee. (Nelson ) Hearing 1116/01 (S) Local
Government
SB 138 S- Accounting Laws- Revise local government accounting law. (Nelson) Hearing 1/16101 Local Government
SB 151 A- Sale of Fitness Services- Prohibit government sale of fitness services. (Mahlum) Hearing 1/19/01(S) Business and
Labor
SB 154 S- Local Vendor preference- Local vendor preference for municipal contracts. (Cocchiarella) Hearing 1111/01 (S)
-Local Government
SB 155 S- Local Option Sales Tax- Allow all cities and counties to adopt local option sales tax. (Halligan ) Hearing 1/19/01 (S)
taxation
SB 162 W- Local Government Revenue- Review of local government revenue dedication laws. (Grosfield) Hearing 1/11/01 (S)
Taxation
SB 174 W- Vehicle Revenue- Vehicle revenue distributed based on local mill levies. (Glaser) Hearing 1125/01 (S) Local
Government
SS 175 W- Motor Vehicle Laws- Revise light vehicle registration fees and other motor vehicle laws. (Glaser) Hearing 1/9/01
(S) Local Government
SB 187 S- Local Government Notice- Revise and standardize local government notice provisions. (Cobb) Hearing 1130101 (S)
Local Government
SB 198 W- Treasure State Endowment- Treasure state endowment set aside for business infrastructure. (Taylor) Hearing
1/18101 (S) Local Government
SB 206 W- Law Enforcement- Authorize law enforcement service areas. (Keenan) Hearing 1/30/01(S) Local Government
SB 213 S- Sales Tax- Local option sales taxes and fees. (Glaser) Hearing 1/19/01 (S) Taxation
SB 216 O- Full cost accounting- Full cost accounting for municipal solid waste programs. (Berry) Hearing 2/1/01 (S) Local
Government
SB 224 W- Real Estate Transfer tax- Real estate transfer tax to fund local planning efforts. (Toole ) Hearing 1126/01 (S)
Taxation
SB 232 W- Limit property tax increases. (Mahlum) Hearing 1/16/01 (S) Taxation
SB 242 O- Prohibit extraterritorial building codes. (O'Neil) Hearing 2/2/01 (S) Judiciary
SB 243 W- Provide stability for electric rates. (Johnson) Hearing 1/16/01 (S) Energy and Telecommunications
SB 244 W- Treasure State Endowment- Revise treasure state endowment to include affordable housing criteria.
(Halligan) Hearing 1/24/01 (S) Finance
SB 246 W- Heritage preservation- Trust fund to fund heritage preservation and development. (Mahlum) Hearing 1/24/01 (S)
Finance
SB 250 W- Gas and Electric Facilities- Local government condemnation authority for gas and electric facilities. (Toole)
Hearing 1/23/01 (S) Energy and Telecommunications
SB 251 W- Occupational Deafness- Provide occupations deafness coverage under occupational disease act. (Cocchiarelf )
Hearing 1125/01 (S) Business and Labor
SB 263 W- Continue Bed Tax- Continue bed tax funding for heritage preservation and development program. (Mahlum )
Hearing 211/01 (S) Business and Labor
S6 317, W- Beer Produced in Montana- Reduce taxes on beer produced in Montana by Montana brewers. (Ellis)
353 323 W- Worker's Compensation- Revise exclusive remedy for worker's compensation. (McNutt)
SB 325 W- Coop Laws- Revise rural electric and telephone coop laws. (Mahlum )
SIB 327 W_ Internet Service Providers- Restrict government competition with private internet service providers. (Doherty)
Hearing 1130/01 (S) Energy and Telecommunications
SB 343 W_ Clean indoor air- Allow general power local government clean indoor air act authority. (Berry)
SB 346 W- Property Tax- Property tax penalty and interest amnesty. (Cobb) Hearing 2/13101 (S) Taxation
SB 347 W_ Property Tax- Allow quarterly payment of most property taxes. (Cobb) Hearing 2/13/01 (S) Taxation
SB 348 S- Railroad Crossings- Authorize quiet zone railroad crossings. (Elliott) Hearing 2/13/01 (S) Highways and
Transportation
SB 352 W- Property Tax- Grace period for property tax payment. (Holden) Hearing 2/6/01 (S) Taxation
SIB 359 S- Annexation district- Allow city or town to create annexation district outside the city or town. (Halligan )
SB 374 W- Class Four Prosy- Change rates on certain class four property -- recreational and inflated value. (Taylor)
SB 395 W- Voter Participation- Increase voter participation in referendum process. (Grosfield )
SB 396 W- Voter Participation- Increase voter participation in constitutional initiative process. (Grosfield )
SB 397 W- Voter Participation- Increase voter participation in statutory initiative process. (Grosfield )
SB 400 W_ Gas Tax Revenue- Authorize local government revenue bonds - Gas tax revenue. (Jergeson )
SB 407 W- Physical Plant Operations- Allow city contract renewals for physical plant operations for water, power (Berry)
SB 413 W- Nonprofit Entities- Prohibit nonprofit entities from owning for profit venture. (Cobb )
W=.Watch S= Support O= Oppose