Multibillion stimulus bill aims to spur Montana into post-COVID prosperity. Here’s what lawmakers want to spend.
House Bill 632 directs a massive influx of cash, equivalent to about $2,800 per Montana resident, toward spending on infrastructure, business support, social services and education — investments that proponents say will help carry Montana into post-COVID prosperity.
Exploring Montana’s economic future
Montana, as the saying goes, is one big small town with really long streets. The Long Streets Project aims to cover it like that, focusing on the economic trends and issues that shape the opportunity Montanans have — or don’t have — to make a decent living.
Funding for Long Streets is provided by The Greater Montana Foundation — encouraging communication on issues, trends and values of importance to Montanans.
No shouting. No name calling. Just local Montana reporters working for you.
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Stimulus money could fuel massive Montana broadband effort
Department of Commerce Director Scott Osterman said Wednesday he’d like to see lawmakers put at least $350 million from Montana’s share of the new federal coronavirus relief package into a major initiative boosting broadband connectivity across the state.
Gianforte administration calls for tax cuts to lure out-of-state entrepreneurs
Three bills before the Legislature would scale back income and capital gains taxes in an effort to bolster Montana’s economy by boosting entrepreneurs. Opponents don’t buy the logic.
Business equipment tax cut gets initial hearing
House Bill 303, sponsored by Rep. Josh Kassmier, R-Fort Benton, would raise the threshold where the state’s business equipment tax kicks in from $100,000 to $200,000.
Promoting rural broadband with tax breaks
Senate Bill 51 aims to address a troublesome gap in Montana’s infrastructure: places where residents still don’t have access to reliable broadband internet.
Shared State
Pledging to bring Montana more “good-paying jobs” is a time-honored cliche for politicians on the campaign trail. But what can elected officials really do to expand economic opportunity for Montanans? And what concerns are Montanans weighing as they decide whether they can build the life they want here?
Next stop: uncertainty
Passenger rail advocates say Amtrak’s plan to reduce the Empire Builder to three days a week will cost the state more than $38 million.
State ‘stabilization’ grants try to plug the holes in federal relief efforts
Entrepreneurs say state-administered grants are welcome aid, even as critics complain that Gov. Steve Bullock hasn’t written checks fast enough
Homegrown
If Montanans want to keep Montana-grown food — and the associated dollars — in-state, the local supply chain will have the be expanded. That includes storage and distribution infrastructure, but the bottleneck is mostly at the food processor level.
Feds release data on Paycheck Protection loan recipients
Data released this week by the U.S. Small Business Administration provides the first detailed accounting of the businesses aided by the Paycheck Protection Program, indicating that Montana’s loan recipients span nearly the full width of the state’s economic landscape.
Lagging rural census response could cost Montana second U.S. House seat
COVID-19 pandemic disrupted get-out-the-count efforts
Coronavirus chill hits Montana newspapers
As of April 1, every large daily publication in the state is facing newsroom furloughs intended to help their companies survive the crisis.
Privacy measure could muddle 2020 census results for rural Montana
In some sparsely populated Montana counties, official population counts could be skewed by 10%.
Montana property taxes keep rising. Here’s where residents shoulder the heaviest loads.
A new tax study was commissioned in part to explore whether state and local governments rely too heavily on residential property tax revenue.
As trade war simmers, Montana farmers get federal relief. Here’s where the 2019 subsidies hit home.
Industry leaders are skeptical that the program puts ag producers back in the black.
A look back at the top MTFP stories of 2019
From the 66th Montana Legislature to the 2020 elections, it’s been a news-filled year.
Hutterite-commissioned study says communities’ collective operations add 2,200 jobs to state economy
The study, billed as the first of its kind, concludes that the communities’ collective business operations contribute $365.3 million annually to the Montana economy.
MTFP Reporter Eric Dietrich talks about data reporting and new Labor Department projections
MTFP data reporter Eric Dietrich’s latest story, “What Jobs May Come,” examines state economists’ forecasts for job openings, wages, and job turnover in Montana in the coming decade.
What jobs may come
State labor department figures released in late September estimate 62,300 job openings in Montana each year through 2028. What they pay, and whether you can get them, has a lot to do with education.
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