Community College Bills Advance In Montana Legislature

By Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan

February 8, 2021

The Montana House passed on second reading a bill to change the funding formula for community colleges and tie it more closely to actual enrollment.

Supporters of House Bill 67 argue it provides a more prudent funding formula. But college presidents have said their balance sheets will suffer if the bill is signed into law.

The bill passed on a vote of 73-27 and the measure was sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad.

Also on Monday, the House Education Committee gave the nod to a bill that addresses the way community colleges are created.

House Bill 179, sponsored by Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, makes the opening of a community college take place in two steps. To streamline the process, Bedey said the first step is the approval or disapproval of a district, and the second step is the funding of the district.

“There are too many wrinkles in the statutes, too many unintended hurdles that render it confusing,” Bedey said.

Later in the session, Bedey plans to offer up a bill that would ask the Montana Legislature to approve a community college district already approved by voters in Ravalli County. Bitterroot College currently operates as a branch of the University of Montana.

In other education news, the Senate Taxation Committee tabled last week Senate Bill 124, which would have allowed an income tax exemption for employees whose bosses provided up to $5,000 toward their student loan repayment.

Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, saw the bill as a recruitment and retention tool for Montana employers and a way to help students with growing student debt. Criticisms of the bill included an argument it wasn’t necessary because employers already get a better deal with a federal income tax exclusion that helps with student loans.

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