3/25/13 Good Bills (We want passed)

Bill # Sponsor Description Status HB 106 Pat Connell Modifies state water use law. Passed House (R) Hamilton Generally revises enforcement provisions, eliminates Transmitted to Senate Natural HD 87 redundant language, clarifies the process for a permit or a Resources Committee change in appropriation right, and streamlines permit requirements in closed basins. HB 128 Galen Provide authority to expend water rights enforcement Passed House Hollenbaugh penalties. Transmitted to Senate Natural (D) Helena Authorizes using fines collected for unlawful use of water Resources Committee HD 81 for the enforcement of water use laws and creates a statutory appropriation to achieve this. HB 142 Pat Connell Restore Dingell-Johnson fish restoration and Became law! (R) Hamilton management funding assent language. HD 87 Restores language ensuring that crucial federal Dingell- Johnson Act funds can be used in Montana for management and restoration of fish populations. HB 401 Revising certain hunting license application fees. Passed House (R) Dillon Designates special license application fees for hunting Transmitted to Senate HD 72 specific species. This bill results from collaboration between hunting and conservation advocates. HB 444 Provide tax credit for access to state lands. Passed House (D) Great Falls Provides a tax credit of $500 to landowners for each access Transmitted to Senate Fish and HD 25 point they provide through their property that enables the Game Committee public to reach a parcel of state land for recreational use. HB 533 Rob Cook Expand the scope of fish enhancement program. Passed House (R) Conrad Replaces “bull trout” and “cutthroat trout” with “native Transmitted to Senate Natural HD 27 Montana fish species,” extending the capabilities and Resources Committee funding of Montana’s fish enhancement program to incorporate additional fish species and providing the program with greater flexibility for its implementation. HB 586 Revise aquatic invasive species laws. House Appropriations Committee (R) Eureka Establishes a statewide aquatic invasive species management HD 2 area and provides a process for inspecting, regulating, and funding aquatic invasive species throughout Montana. SB 278 Jim Peterson Ratify C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge water Passed Senate (R) Buffalo compact. Transmitted to House Natural SD 15 Settles for all time any and all claims to federal reserved Resources Committee water rights on the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, including U.S. instream rights for the purposes of stock, wildlife, and wildlife habitat and recognizing FWP’s interest in maintaining water flow and wildlife habitat throughout the Refuge. SB 346 Chas Vincent Revise exempt well laws. Passed Senate (R) Libby Revises water law by defining “stream depletion zone” and Transmitted to House Natural SD 1 provides for the determination of whether groundwater Resources Committee rights exempt from permitting are affecting senior surface water rights, and if so, it provides for enforcement according to priority. This helps maintain the structure of water rights according to priority.

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3/25/13 Bad Bills (We don’t want passed)

Bill # Sponsor Description Status HB 24 Create state parks and recreation board. Passed House (R) Colstrip Provides for the creation of a state parks and recreation Transmitted to Senate Natural HD 43 board consisting of five member appointed by the governor; Resources Committee grants rulemaking authority to the board; and allows the board to set certain policies and provide direction regarding state parks and recreation to the FWP commission. This does away with FWP’s management over parks and recreation (state parks, primitive parks, state recreation areas, public campgrounds, state historic sites, state monuments, and other heritage and recreational resources, land, and water administered under Title 23 chapters 1 and 2 in the MCA). It also specifically provides the board with administration and management over the popular Smith River and its adjacent campgrounds. This bill significantly decreases concurrent management of both fish and wildlife and state parks and recreation. HB 404 Kelly Flynn Provide funding for block management program. House Appropriations Committee (R) Townsend Shifts FWP funding for securing wildlife habitat and puts it HD 68 into a hunting access account to be used to fund the block management program. While the block management program is worthwhile, it should continue to be funded by other sources, rather than robbing important wildlife habitat funds. SB 19 Bradley Define combined appropriation for exempt wells. Passed Senate Hamlett Codifies a loophole that allows developers to use an Transmitted to House Natural (D) Cascade unlimited amount of groundwater wells without requiring Resources Committee SD 10 an analysis of how the cumulative effects of these wells would affect connected streams and established water rights. SB 23 Matthew Revise interim zoning laws. Passed Senate Rosendale Revises county interim zoning requirements and procedures, Passed House (R) Glendive making it more difficult for a local government to implement Transmitted to Governor SD 19 interim zoning and making interim zoning applicable for a shorter period of time. Interim zoning is an important protecting existing landowners and their property rights from unexpected and damaging land use proposals. SB 24 Matthew Revise zoning laws for sand and gravel operations. Passed Senate Rosendale Creates impediments to local government’s ability to zone Passed House (R) Glendive by giving preference to open-cut sand or gravel SD 19 operations and taking away valuable protections for streams and surrounding landowners. SB 41 Edward Buttrey Prohibiting consideration of future subdivision impact. Passed Senate (R) Great Falls Prevents a governing body from considering the impacts of Passed House SD 13 additional future subdivisions when reviewing subdivision Transmitted to Governor applications. This hampers the ability of local governments to make informed decisions affecting long- term planning and local communities. SB 105 Taylor Brown Revise interim zoning laws. Passed Senate (R) Huntley Prohibits local governments from establishing an interim- Passed House SD 22 zoning district if the proposed use is subject to state regulation, consistent with adopted zoning regulations, prevents an agricultural activity, or if zoning regulations have not yet been adopted for the property. Vetoed in 2011, this bill eliminates the private property and community interest protections of interim zoning. SB 137 Revise local government laws relating to environmental Passed Senate (R) Roundup cleanup. Passed House SD 23 Provides local governments with a defense against liability in tort action seeking damages resulting from violations of clean water statutes, the Solid Waste Management Act, the Hazardous Waste Act, petroleum storage tank cleanup requirements, or the Underground Storage Tank Act on property acquired by local government authority. This partially guts environmental protections established in part to keep waterways healthy and sustainable.

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Bill # Sponsor Description Status SB 147 Edward Buttrey Generally revise subdivision review criteria laws Passed Senate (R) Great Falls regarding agriculture. Transmitted to House Local SD 13 Changes subdivision law so that it no longer requires Government subdivision reviews to examine impacts on agricultural economies and culture, limiting review to effects on adjacent agricultural operations. This bill severely restricts the ability of Montanans to steer the future of development in their communities and how it might affect a primary economic driver as well as open space conservation. SB 237 John Brenden Require land board approval of land purchases. Passed Senate (R) Scobey Requires approval by the board of land commissioners for Transmitted to House Natural SD 18 certain land purchases by FWP and prohibits a net gain in Resources Committee state land ownership when FWP makes land purchases. Fishing access sites of less than 5 acres are exempt from the rule, allowing continual acquisition of additional fishing access sites. The bill also creates a fishing access enhancement program, providing landowner assistance and encouragement for public access to and across private lands for fishing purposes. This is an angler-friendly bill. SB 337 Bradley Clarify standing provisions in Water Court proceedings. Passed Senate Hamlett This bill is aimed at preventing TU from having standing to Transmitted to House Judiciary (D) Cascade object to most inaccurate or bogus claims in the statewide Committee SD 10 adjudication of water rights – a right that was affirmed for TU by the Montana Supreme Court. SB 347 Chas Vincent Revise water degradation laws. Passed Senate (R) Libby This bill, a gift to the mining industry, changes the definition Transmitted to House Natural SD 1 of “degradation” in Montana water quality laws so that it Resources Committee does not include groundwater dewatering or diversion of surface flows even if it harms water quality or existing water rights. Importantly, this bill allows miners to dry up streams when they dewater local groundwater sources, even if it results in harm to irrigators with senior water rights, FWP instream flow rights, or important fish populations. There is no recourse for existing users under Montana water use or water quality laws to prevent this harm. SB 355 Bradley Water court review of claims exempt from filing. Senate Finance and Claims Hamlett Allows, though does not require, the owner of an existing Committee (D) Cascade water right who is exempt from certain filing requirements, SD 10 to request a judicial determination from the water court of the existing water right if the owner hasn’t already voluntarily filed a claim. Though failure to file a claim or request a judicial determination does not result in the forfeiture of an existing water right, failure to do so does exclude the water right from the normal principles of first in time, first in right and water distribution. This codifies already-existing loopholes in certain aspects of Montana water law and penalizes people with exemptions.

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3/25/13 Bills to Watch

Bill # Sponsor Description Status HB 37 Bill McChesney Allow temporary leasing of water rights. Passed House (D) Miles City Allows an appropriator, with department approval, to Passed Senate with Amendments HD 40 temporarily lease an appropriation right up to the total Returned to House consumptive use of the appropriation right. HB 59 Revise title of governor's drought advisory committee. Passed House (D) Butte Revises the title and duties of the drought advisory Passed Senate HD 74 committee to include the analysis of water supplies and Transmitted to Governor flooding as required duties of the committee. HB 266 Ray Shaw Fund partial implementation of Big Pipestone Tabled in House Appropriations (R) Sheridan Creek/Jefferson River Slough Watershed Restoration Committee HD 71 projects. Restores and improves fish habitat by providing funding for channel restoration, riparian management, beaver management, and hydrological monitoring HB 291 Krayton Kerns Generally revise canal or ditch easement laws. Passed House (R) Laurel Expands the secondary easements allowed to a person with a Passed Senate HD 58 canal or ditch easement by also allowing the person to Returned to House with operate the appropriation works. Amendments HB 609 Pat Connell Interim study of hunting and fishing licensing. House Fish, Wildlife and Parks (R) Hamilton Provides for a study on Montana’s hunting and fishing Committee HD 87 licensing, reporting, statutes, and fees. SB 18 Bradley Clarify taxation and ownership of river channel Passed Senate Hamlett following an avulsion. Passed House with Amendments (D) Cascade Attempts to clarify ownership of channels formed by an SD 10 avulsion, which the sudden change in the course of the waterway that creates a new channel and results in an abandoned channel. Our evaluation indicates it shouldn’t affect public access for recreational use of streams. It primarily affects riverbed ownership, taxation and the ability of DNRC to collect rent from use of navigable riverbeds. SB 31 Debby Barrett Revise definition of eligible renewable resource. Passed Senate (R) Dillon Revises the definition of “eligible renewable resource” to Transmitted to House Federal SD 36 include existing hydroelectric facilities, enabling big out-of- Relations, Energy, and state utilities such as PPL to credit these sources as part of Telecommunications Committee the required renewable resource portion of their energy generation portfolio.

SB 40 Edward Buttrey Generally revising provisions governing subdivision Passed Senate (R) Great Falls review. Passed House SD 13 Alters subdivision review by deeming a subdivision Transmitted to Governor application “received” when delivered to the reviewer and accompanied by the review fee. It also strikes a portion of the law requiring a governing body to determine whether public comments or documents presented at a hearing is new information or not. This bill could hamper the ability of local government to make judgments on the impacts of subdivisions to water quality or habitat using the best available information.

SB 45 Jim Keane Revise the renewable portfolio standard laws to include Passed Senate (D) Butte hydro expansions. Passed House SD 38 Incorporates hydroelectric project expansions into the definition of “eligible renewable resource” for reporting renewable energy credits for eligible renewable resources to the Public Service Commission.

SB 92 Alan Olson Revise strip and underground mining laws. Passed Senate (R) Roundup Streamlines annual reporting requirements for strip and Passed House SD 23 underground mining, while also excluding certain Transmitted to Governor prospecting actions from constituting substantial disturbances and therefore excluding them from certain application requirements, such as specifying what methods will be used in sealing aquifers. This increases already- existing threats to water supplies.

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Bill # Sponsor Description Status SB 146 Edward Buttrey Generally revise subdivision review criteria laws Passed Senate (R) Great Falls regarding agency comment. Passed House SD 13 Revises criteria for subdivision review to require that Transmitted to Governor information submitted by a governmental entity commenting on the impacts a proposed subdivision has on wildlife, wildlife habitat, or the natural environment be used only if it is backed up with scientific information or a published study. This bill narrows the scope of comments allowed for subdivision reviews, omitting professional opinion, subordinating concerns about effects to fish and wildlife to development. SB 217 Bradley Revise laws governing watershed protection. Passed Senate Hamlett Finds that watersheds and drinking water supplies Transmitted to House Natural (D) Cascade throughout the state are threatened by “catastrophic” fires Resources Committee SD 10 and directs DNRC to analyze forest lands for insect infestations, tree diseases and how best to manage forests it deems at high risk -- all things DNRC already does for state lands. It also directs DNRC to push for federal legislation that prods federal managers to manage public forests the way the State wants to see them managed, which is not always consistent with federal laws. This is an unnecessary bill and solves nothing. SB 265 Extend the reserved water rights compact commission. Passed Senate (R) Kalispell Suspends adjudication of reserved Indian water rights and Transmitted to House Natural SD 5 federal reserved water rights of those tribes and federal Resources Committee agencies that are negotiating a water compact. SB 332 Generally revise open-cut laws. Passed Senate (R) Kalispell Allows an operator who holds a permit for open-cut mining Passed House SD 3 to conduct another open-cut operation in a different location and to remove an additional 10,000 cubic yards of material from it without an additional permit or an amendment to an existing permit.

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Bills that we’re still tracking, or which have died, include:

Support: HB 5 – Long-range building appropriations. In House Committee. HB 6 – Renewable resource grants. Passed House. Transmitted to Senate. HB 7 – Reclamation and development grants. Passed House. Transmitted to Senate. HB 8 – Renewable resource bonds and loans. Passed House. Transmitted to Senate. HB 62 – Authorize FWP commission to require barbless hooks in catch-and-release waters. Tabled in House Committee. HB 160 – Require that aquatic invasive programs be funded by state general fund. Tabled in House Committee. HB 235 – Revise trespass laws. Tabled in House Committee. HB 381 – Revise fines for lakeshore protection violations. Tabled in House Committee.

Oppose: HB 246 – Revise conservation easement laws. Tabled in House Committee. HB 516 – Generally revise water law. Tabled in House Committee. HB 553 – Generally revise gravel permit permitting process. Tabled in Senate Committee. HB 561 – Define combined appropriation for exempt wells. Probably dead. HJ 7 – Joint resolution to initiate legal action for damages to state waters. Tabled in Senate Committee. HJ 8 – Resolution in opposition to the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. Tabled in House Committee. HJ 15 – Study water policy to put more water to beneficial use. Tabled in House Committee. SB 17 – Constitutional amendment revising Art II, sec 3, regarding use of property. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 155 – Require EIS for FWP land acquisition. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 169 – Revise payments by FWP to counties for land. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 204 – Amend constitution to prohibit fishing/hunting/trapping laws by initiative. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 229 – Revise open-cut mining laws. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 234 – Provisional permits for gravel pits. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 263 – Revise exempt water well law. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 284 – Establish the property fairness act. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 330 – Revise water court jurisdiction laws. Tabled in Senate Committee. SJ 9 – Resolution providing due process for property rights. Tabled in Senate Committee.

Watch: HB 149 – Revise ditch easement laws. Tabled in House Committee. SB 38 – Establish stream depletion zones for exempt wells. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 201 – Revise laws on rural/urban interface and fire protection. Tabled in House Committee. SB 214 – Revise environmental review process to include analysis of impact beyond Montana. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 334 – Define perennial streams for streambed preservation act. Tabled in Senate Committee. SB 341 – Establish criteria for transplantation or augmentation of wildlife. Tabled in House Committee.

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