HELENA — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is proposing a budget that would increase spending by 1.4 percent over two years and look to bolster flagging revenues by taxing medical marijuana and raising taxes on the rich.
The two-year budget plan released Tuesday also seeks to build Montana’s rainy day fund back to $300 million.
The Democratic governor’s plan would cut state spending by nearly $8.8 million the first year, then increasing it $44 million the second, a reflection of lower-than-expected revenues from tax collections.
The proposal also calls for a new 6 percent tax on medical marijuana.
People would be taxed at a 7.9 percent rate instead of 6.9 percent for income over $500,000 a year.
Bullock is proposing to spend $292 million on infrastructure, $157 million of which would come from bonds.
Lawmakers take up the proposal in January.
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