The 69th Montana State Legislature will convene at the start of January and the city of Billings has planned its priorities when advocating for the community's interests.
The Billings City Council approved what it wants to ask from the Legislature in the upcoming session.
The priorities are broad but include local authority and public safety.
“Certainly our number one legislative priority is public safety,” said Council member Kendra Shaw, who represents the South Side.
The Council will support bills to fight drug abuse, domestic violence and human trafficking along with help for homelessness and mental health services.
Shaw, who is the chair of the city’s Legislative and Local Affairs Council Committee, says a couple of bills that failed in 2023 are at the top of the city's list.
One of those bills would revise sentencing and penalties for theft laws.
Another would allow youth to be tried as adults for certain violent crimes, with Billings seeing a rise in high-profile youth violence.
“We have some legislators that are interested in getting into the youth court system because we're seeing a backlog here locally,” Shaw said.
The Yellowstone County Detention Facility and the need to find a place for inmates has been a concern for the city and the county.
“I'd like to have the state at least look at maybe a regional facility or a way of helping us,” said Councilman Mike Boyett. “If nothing else, make the state prison bigger stronger.”
Boyett is also on the committee.
He and Shaw are also focused on helping taxpayers.
They want to shift the property tax burden with potentially a local option tax.
Currently, only cities up to a population of 5,500 with a majority of workers in tourism can use that tax such as Red Lodge.
The tax is usually applied to hotels and retail goods.
“One million to 2 million people a year come here,” Boyett said. “Why wouldn't we want to get something to cover some of our expenses?”
One of the city's legislative partners, the Montana League of Cities and Towns also supports the tax, but it's not necessarily at the top for its 127 members.
“Each topic that might come up during the legislative session may affect them differently,” said Jennifer Olson, the league's government affairs director.
For Billings, housing, economic development, and infrastructure are also priorities.
“There is a focus area,” Olson said. “It is really about empowering local governments.
The Yellowstone County Attorney's office is also one of the council's legislative partners.
