HELENA, Mont. (NMB) – A bill in the Montana Legislature would mean voters would no longer be asked every ten years to reauthorize the six-mill levy, a property tax for higher education that has been on the ballot every decade since 1948.
Last November, 63 percent of voters approved the 6-mill levy, which taxes 12 cents per $1,000 in property value and raises roughly $20 million per year.
Tim Pierce with the UM Legislative News Service reports, Democratic Senator Dick Barrett from Missoula, who’s sponsoring Senate Bill 152, says there’s no question of popularity or need for the tax.
“With a resounding ‘yes,’ ten times within the last 70 years, it’s time to take ‘yes’ for an answer.”
But Patrick Webb with the Americans for Prosperity Montana says time limits on legislation is a valuable tool.
“Sunset provision are good governing policy, especially on programs that rely on major government spending and debt.”
The Senate Taxation Committee did not take immediate action on the bill.
