Table of Contents
Do not index
Do not index
Read the article at the Montana Free Press by Eric Dietrich
excerpt:
“The infrastructure bills, largely based on proposals presented to the Legislature by the governor, are considered each session as complements to HB 2. The bills advanced Wednesday must still pass final floor votes in the House in the coming days before advancing to the Senate and then, ultimately, the governor’s desk.
The package doesn’t include proposals under consideration by the Legislature that would direct large portions of the state’s $2.5 billion budget surplus toward infrastructure spending independently from the state’s pre-existing programs.
For example, a measure advanced with the backing of the governor, House Bill 825, would put $200 million into a housing infrastructure fund, using most of the money to provide loans for water and sewer projects necessary to support new home construction. Another, Rep. John Fitzpatrick’s House Bill 355, would allocate $267 million to counties for local infrastructure projects. Those and other one-off spending bills are moving through the Legislature separately from the routine budget bills and face an April 4 deadline for clearing the House.”