HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer has vetoed a trio of bills, one a tax incentive for businesses and the others dealing with renewable energy.
Senate Bill 503 sponsored by Republican Sen. Jeff Essmann of Billings would have created capital gains credits for business owners, as a stimulus for economic development. Senate Bill 257 sponsored by Sen. Jim Keane, D-Butte, would have changed the definition of renewable power to include additional power from some hydroelectric projects. The third measure vetoed, Senate Bill 403 sponsored by Sen. Kelly Gebhardt, R-Roundup, would have changed how NorthWestern Energy could apply certain power purchases from small projects to meet quotas for renewable power.
Also Friday, Schweitzer signed into law House Bill 678, by Rep. JP Pomnichowski, D-Bozeman, to revise state law on gravel pits. Although he signed the legislation, the governor said he objects to its provision that appears to restrict the public’s right to receive notice and participate in the permitting process for open-cut mines, most of which are gravel operations.
Schweitzer ordered the state Department of Environmental Quality to implement the bill in a manner that “treats the public notice and public participation requirements of the bill as floors, not ceilings.”
Essmann’s bill would have created some capital-gains tax credits, which are dollar-for-dollar reductions in tax liability, for business owners and those who set up businesses in Montana to help spur economic development.
Schweitzer said the bill violates the guidelines he presented, at the start of the legislative session, to make sure that the state budget is balanced and that reserves are maintained.
“Ironically, people who have already made past investments without the credit would receive a windfall on their taxes of more than $300,000 per year, while new investment in Montana would not derive tax benefits until 2019,” Schweitzer’s veto message said.
“Despite its fetching title, I do not believe SB503 would create real economic stimulus for Montana nor do I think it represents good policy.”
In vetoing Keane’s bill, Schweitzer said the it would discourage development of new, renewable-energy projects.
He said Gebhardt’s SB403 carries a risk of litigation and “does not move construction of new renewable energy forward in Montana.”