Montana
Gianforte-backed property tax measure would offer homeowner relief by raising taxes on second homes, Airbnbs
A property tax relief measure touted by Gov. Greg Gianforte as his signature response to widespread public angst over rising residential tax bills would lower taxes on primary residences by raising them on second homes and Airbnb-style short-term vacation rentals.
Heard before the House Taxation Committee Wednesday, the proposal drew praise from members of Gianforte’s tax task force but opposition from large businesses worried it would raise their taxes and progressive groups that want lawmakers to adopt tax measures that provide more relief to lower-income taxpayers by leaning harder on wealthier residents.
House Bill 231, sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, would also offer tax savings to landlords with long-term tenants and to smaller businesses that own commercial properties.
Specifically, the bill would divide the state’s existing residential property category into a bifurcated system, lowering rates used to calculate taxes for owner-occupied homes and long-term rentals while raising them for other residential properties.
The measure would also split the state’s commercial property category into two rate brackets, offering a lower rate to approximately the first $2 million of business value.
The Montana Department of Revenue would be responsible for tracking which residential properties qualify for the lower rates, starting with the list of properties that were granted one-off homeowner property tax rebates the past two years and shifting to an application program over time.
Jones argued Wednesday that the proposal represents a reasonable effort to provide tax relief without shifting an undue amount of tax burden onto non-residential properties. He also said he’s deliberately trying to raise property tax bills for part-time residents who use public services while living in Montana but file their income taxes elsewhere.
“Without a sales tax, it’s fairly difficult to have those folks participate in this economy,” he said.
related
Democrats pitch property tax relief via income tax credit
A measure pitched by the Democrats in the Montana Legislature would take aim at rising homeowner property bills by offering an income tax credit, offsetting a portion of property tax payments for homeowners and renter households earning up to $150,000 a year.
Part of the challenge facing the state’s tax system, Jones said, is that Montana’s gradual transformation from a natural resource-heavy economy to one increasingly driven by destination tourism has eroded much of the property tax base that once paid much of the bill for local services like law enforcement and education.
Jones presented the tax committee with data indicating that the fraction of the Montana property value contained in residential properties has grown dramatically in recent decades, up to 76% in 2023 versus 29% in 1985. In contrast, the share of the tax base represented by major industrial properties has declined dramatically, down to 5% in 2023 from 23% in 1985.
By raising taxes on second homes such as Yellowstone Club mansions, the bill would in effect try to use them as a replacement for the state’s historic industrial tax base. Jones also said Wednesday that he believes offering preferential tax treatment to long-term rentals over Airbnb-style short term rentals could encourage property owners to make more housing available to permanent residents.
Jones said he estimates his bill would reduce property taxes for about 230,000 primary residences by an estimated 17%. He also estimates that 130,000 rental properties and 32,000 small businesses would see similar reductions. MTFP estimated previously that the median residential property tax bill increased by 21% between 2022 and 2023.
The proposal drew support at Wednesday’s hearing from Gianforte’s budget office, as well as public education advocates, the National Federation of Independent Business, AARP Montana and the Montana Farm Bureau Federation.
“Ultimately it’s a solution that keeps property taxes inside the property tax system. It doesn’t require a personal income tax bailout into the property tax system,” said Ryan Evans, the assistant director of the governor’s budget office.
related
Bed-tax-to-property-tax-relief proposal slammed by tourism advocates
Lawmakers who want to offer residents substantial immediate property tax relief face an inescapable mathematical reality: Unless they want to force local governments to lay off cops and teachers, the money to lower residential property tax bills has to come from somewhere. That somewhere, for one of the first major tax relief proposals to come up for hearing before a legislative committee this year, is the $120 million a year collected by the state’s pair of bed taxes.
The bill was opposed by the Montana Chamber of Commerce and other business advocates, who worried that lower taxes on residences and small businesses would end up forcing larger businesses to pick up the tab.
Bob Story, the executive director of the Montana Taxpayers Association, testified that the bill would mean a property tax increase of at least $1,000 for more than 900 Montana companies, with several facing increases of more than $100,000.
“They’re large companies, sure, but that doesn’t mean they have all kinds of money to pay additional taxes,” Story said.
Some advocates for a more progressive tax system also spoke in opposition.
Rose Bender, a researcher with the Montana Budget and Policy Center, said she believes the bill is too generous to higher-value homes and not generous enough to less valuable ones.
“This bill needs to better target relief to low- and moderate-value homes,” Bender said.
Like other property tax relief bills heard by legislative committees this week — among them a bill that would divert bed tax dollars from tourism promotion to property tax relief and another that would offset property taxes with a state income tax credit — Jones’ bill faces a committee vote and potential amendments as the first of several hurdles it must clear en route to the governor’s desk.
Gianforte said during his Jan. 13 State of the State address that he wants to be able to sign the measure into law by mid-February so the state Department of Revenue can implement its provisions this year, a timeframe that would require it to advance rapidly through the Montana House and Senate.
Montana
Montana Supreme Court Decides International Child Custody Case – Transnational Litigation Blog
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act discourages forum shopping in child custody disputes by assigning subject-matter jurisdiction to the court located in the “home state” of the child. In Allen v. Allen, decided on April 21, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court had to determine whether the child’s “home state” was Montana or the Netherlands. This case shines an important spotlight on the importance of timing in international child custody disputes. The left-behind parent’s likelihood of success is strongly correlated with how quickly he or she acts to vindicate their legal rights.
Facts
Jonathan Edward Allen (Father) and Petronella Gerline (Van Oosterom) Allen (Mother) were married in Colorado in 2009. Father is a United States citizen. Mother is a dual citizen of the United States and the Netherlands. Their child (R.A.A.) was born in 2015. In 2020, the family moved from Colorado to Montana.
In August 2023, after Father and Mother began having marital difficulties, Mother and R.A.A. relocated to the Netherlands. In February 2024, Mother filed a petition for divorce and custody with the District Court of Central Netherlands (Netherlands District Court).
In January 2025, Father filed a petition with the District Court of The Hague seeking the return of R.A.A. pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This petition was denied. Although the court held that R.A.A. had been wrongfully removed from the United States, the court reasoned that the one-year automatic return period had passed and that R.A.A. had become settled in her new environment in the Netherlands. This decision was affirmed on appeal.
In September 2025, Father filed an Emergency Motion for Temporary Custody and Petition for Permanent Parenting Plan in Montana state court. That court dismissed the petition on the grounds that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. Specifically, it held that it lacked the power to adjudicate the dispute because Montana was no longer the “home state” of R.A.A. Father, acting pro se, appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.
Analysis
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) assigns exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction to courts located in the child’s “home state” when it comes to matters relating to child custody. The “home state” is “the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as parent for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding.” The UCCJEA specifically provides that courts “shall treat a foreign country as if it were a state of the United States” for purposes of resolving these disputes.
On the facts presented in Allen v. Allen, the Montana Supreme Court correctly held that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to consider Father’s emergency motion. Mother and R.A.A. relocated to the Netherlands in August 2023. Six months later—in February 2024—R.A.A.’s home state shifted to the Netherlands. The Dutch courts—rather than the Montana courts—now had exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction to resolve custody disputes involving R.A.A. Father did not file his motion in Montana until September 2025, which was nineteen months too late.
Conclusion
If Father had filed his suit in Montana before February 2024, he could have shown that Montana was R.A.A.’s “home state” because the child had not yet resided in the Netherlands for six months. The suit was, however, not filed until September 2025.
If Father had filed suit in the Netherlands before August 2024, he could have argued that R.A.A. should be returned to the United States pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction because the child had not yet resided in the Netherlands for a year. The suit was, however, not filed until January 2025.
The key takeaway of Allen v. Allen is the need for speed in international child custody cases. The timelines baked into the relevant laws and treaties mandate that the left-behind parent move quickly to assert their rights. If they are slow off the mark, they be forced to litigate in foreign courts under less favorable legal rules.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
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