Trade center proposal tabled by committee

A Hungry Horse legislator’s proposal to establish a Montana trade center in Calgary was likely sunk for a second straight legislative session after a Senate committee tabled the bill on Tuesday.

Republican Sen. Dee Brown’s Senate Bill 75 asked for $200,000 per year from state bed-tax revenues to staff an office in Alberta’s largest city with a representative to promote the Montana businesses and tourism.

“When we talk about bed tax, we’re not talking about just tourism,” Brown told the committee. “There are many parts of government who are deciding where the bed tax is going, but we as a Legislature haven’t weighed in enough.”

Committee members representing other parts of the state argued, however, that the use of tax money raised from hotels across Montana would disproportionately be used to promote Western Montana’s business interests. The bill would have also created a cap on the amount the Department of Commerce could use for promoting the state as a location for film and television production.

Sen. Pat Connell, R-Hamilton, argued against the bill, stating that the funds could go further if used for social media campaigning rather than a brick-and-mortar presence in Canada.

“The same amount of money could do an incredible job of just saturating that marketplace to support bringing the people into Montana,” Connell said. “I like the goal, I’m not sure this is the vehicle to pursue it.”

The measure won support from the Montana Oufitters and Guides Association a week before. Representatives from the Montana Hospitality and Lodging Association, Glacier Country Tourism, the Montana Film Office and the state’s film industry spoke in opposition to the bill.

Dee’s measure failed to advance to the Senate floor by a 7-3 margin.

In the 2015 session, a similar bill sponsored by Brown successfully cleared the Senate. It was tabled by a House committee but was taken up before the full House, where it ultimately failed on a 57-43 vote.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.