Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee

RTIC Requests Draft Bills for Interim Studies

Committee: Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee
Author: Megan Moore
Posted on May 9, 2018


Image of an old barn in a big green field under a big blue sky

The Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee met May 2-3 in Helena.  The committee received agency updates from the Department of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, and the Montana Tax Appeal Board. The Department of Revenue update also included presentations of three required reports on the qualified endowment tax credit, the biodiesel blending and storage tax credit, and the student scholarship organizations receiving contributions that are granted tax credits.

Additional agenda items included a general fund revenue update for the committee’s revenue estimating and monitoring duties, an update on new proposed rules for the medical marijuana program, and additional information about how the Board of Oil and Gas Conservation sets the privilege and license tax and about the board’s budget.

Much of the meeting, however, was spent on the committee’s three interim studies.  The committee held work sessions for each study to consider whether to make findings and recommendations and whether to request draft legislation. The committee did not make any findings or recommendations but did request legislation for each study.

For the study of tax increment financing (TIF), the committee directed staff to work with the Department of Revenue and other stakeholders on suggested legislation to cap the amount of base taxable value within a jurisdiction that may be in a district that uses TIF and to require multiple districts that use TIF within a jurisdiction to be administered collectively.  The committee also asked staff to draft two other bills for the study: one requiring remittance of increment not necessary to make bond payments after some period of time and the other amending section 7-15-4257, MCA, to provide that entry on private property is limited to the purpose of a public safety assessment.

The Department of Revenue presented analyses requested by the committee for the study of agricultural classification and valuation. The information showed the impact of moving 1 acre under a residence from valuation based on productivity to market valuation and provided a possible method for aligning income requirements for agricultural classification with the value assigned to the property during reappraisal. The committee also heard a recommendation from orchard and vineyard owners to allow provisional agricultural classification for 5 years as long as the property contains a certain number of trees or vines. After the 5 years, the owner must meet the current $1,500 in gross income requirement. The committee requested that staff work with the Department of Revenue and its informal agricultural working group to develop a broader bill draft that addresses the concerns identified during the study.

The study of centrally assessed and industrial property resulted in one request for a bill draft. The concept for the bill draft is to extend the timeline for certification of the value of centrally assessed property by 1 year to give the Department of Revenue and the taxpayer more time to exchange information during the appraisal process.

The committee will take public comment on all requested bill drafts at its next meeting on July 10-11 in Helena. Written public comment on the bill drafts may also be submitted to committee staff. For more information, visit the committee’s website or contact Megan Moore, committee staff.

Committee Website: www.leg.mt.gov/rtic
Committee Staff: memoore@mt.gov or 406-444-4496