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Montana politics, elections and legislative news

Lawmakers Consider Creating Oil And Gas Trust Fund

Oil pump.
Dan Boyce

The author of Montana’s coal tax and the constitutional coal tax trust fund wholeheartedly supports creation of a constitutionally protected oil and gas tax trust fund. Former Billings legislator Tom Towe says, like the constitutionally protected coal tax trust, this would be a gift to future generations.
 
"I want everybody to look up. Bring their sights up a little bit. Don’t look only to the next day or to tomorrow or the day after, the month after or the election after. Look what you can do for the people of Montana for the future for many, many years," Towe said.

Towe points to all of the benefits Montana enjoys today from the interest income from the coal tax trust. This includes helping bail out the public employees pension system or grants to communities for infrastructure projects.

Opponents, however, say while this is a good faith attempt, they can’t wait for the interest from a proposed oil and gas trust to pay for future projects.

"The future is now," says Jon Metropolos, who represents the Montana Association of Oil, Gas and Coal Counties. He says these counties are dealing with marginal roads, water systems and school facilities now. Metropolos says this bill could take away existing tax revenue that  local governments and schools depend on in order to build this trust.

"This proposal would take money from the counties beginning small and growing greater. Oil will come back, I’m not the person to tell you when, but oil will come back and the infrastructure needs to be upgraded now."

The sponsor of the bill argues that’s not necessarily the case. Representative Tom Jacobson says House Bill 310 would ask the voters if they want to amend the Montana Constitution to establish a permanent oil and gas trust fund. He says if successful, it would be up to future Legislatures to make sure local governments and school districts are not harmed.

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