The Montana Free Press
Two proposals with competing visions for the tens of millions in taxes that Montana collects annually on the sale of recreational marijuana are still making their way through the Legislature as lawmakers work to set a two-year state budget.
One measure, House Bill 669, would funnel most of the state’s adult-use marijuana tax collections — which are forecast to top $50 million per year — to the General Fund, allowing lawmakers to distribute that money as they see fit on a session-by-session basis, including this one. The other, Senate Bill 442, started as a proposal to divvy taxes between rural road maintenance and Gov. Gianforte’s signature substance use disorder treatment program, but has since been amended to also include statutory allocations for wildlife habitat, state parks and veterans’ programs. Most of SB 442’s statutory allocations would be permanent unless retooled by a future Legislature.
After passing the Senate 49-1 on April 4, the latter proposal was heard by the House Taxation Committee Friday.
In his opening remarks, bill sponsor Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, described SB 442 as a “once in a generation bill” that would bridge a gap between agriculture, hunting and access.
He said that, in addition to providing stable funding for county roads and allocating 11% of marijuana tax collections toward treatment for drug abuse, it would create a new fund, the Kelly Flynn Montana Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program and Legacy Act, to “increase the pace and scale of habitat stewardship and restoration treatments across rural Montana.” About one-third of the tax collections would go toward the general fund, he added.
Source: https://montanafreepress.org/2023/04/14/legislature-dueling-weed-tax-proposals/
