Fights are ramping up at the state Capitol over what to do with Montana’s marijuana tax revenue and its funding of the Habitat Montana conservation program, as the two bills still moving through the legislature that address both contain vastly different end goals.
Conservation and outdoors groups have been loudly outspoken about what they see as efforts to redistribute more than $8 million a year in marijuana tax revenue currently allocated to Habitat Montana, showing up en masse to committee hearings to oppose several bills and holding a rally attended by hundreds at the Capitol in late February at which they called on lawmakers to keep their hands off the extra funding for the program.
Several of the groups opposed to shifting the funding away from Habitat Montana said this week they had seen a positive resolution when Senate Bill 442, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, which had sought to redistribute money going toward Habitat Montana and other programs to county road funding, was amended to restore the 20% of marijuana tax revenue currently going to the program on an ongoing basis – but through a slightly different mechanism.
Wild Montana State Policy Director Noah Marion said in a statement Thursday the amendment was “great news” for conservation and public land access and urged lawmakers “to push this bill over the line without delay.”
But another bill, House Bill 669 from Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, could get in the way of that happening. It…
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