HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer offered a slew of amendments Thursday to a bill that aims to speed the permitting process for development projects.
The governor offered an amendatory veto of House Bill 483, which cleared the Legislature. He is suggesting to lawmakers who will vote on his decision to accept more than two dozen amendments.
The governor’s changes to the measure appear to have the key support needed to clear the Legislature.
The Republican sponsor of the bill said he agrees with the governor’s changes. Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, said he worked with the governor’s office on what he described as “cleanup” language of the measure.
Jones said the bill still stops “deleterious” appeals of permits for energy projects and other development, forces appeals of projects to be filed inside of 30 days, and lets companies takes permit disputes straight to court in order to speed the process.
“It’s really the same bill, with some cleanup,” Jones said.
Environmentalists also approve of the governor’s changes. They say the moves ensure citizens can still be involved in the process with the Board of Environmental Review.
Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center said the governor’s many changes to the bill are proof the original bill was not ready to be law.
“I think the governor has done a very reasoned job of trying to make this work for the public and for the board,” Hedges said. “His amendments significantly improve a very bad bill for the citizens of the states. The public deserves to have a voice in these decisions and the governor is making sure they do.”
The Environmental Protection Agency recently sent a letter to Schweitzer saying the original bill could pose problems in determining whether state regulatory programs meet federal approval.