HOUSE BILL NO. 226

INTRODUCED BY S. KITZENBERG

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT DIRECTING $100 MILLION OF THE STATE'S TOBACCO SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO BE USED AS GRANTS TO FUND AN INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND MUSEUM IN NORTHEASTERN MONTANA; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."

WHEREAS, economic development in Montana is a high priority for Governor Racicot and the 1999 Legislature, as evidenced by the formation of the legislative Select Committee on Jobs and Income; and

WHEREAS, a world-class museum in northeastern Montana will attract tourists and spur economic development in a part of the state that has not traditionally been a tourist destination; and

WHEREAS, the 1997 Legislature appropriated funds to assist in the establishment of the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum; and

WHEREAS, the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum is ideally located to offer visitors a unique perspective on the paleontology, prehistory, and history of northeastern Montana; and

WHEREAS, the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum will house rare dinosaur specimens as well as exhibits on the construction of the Fort Peck Dam and other historic events, exhibits will also showcase northeast Montana's Native American presence and the area's plant and animal diversity, and a smoking and tobacco-use prevention and cessation exhibit will be constructed as an acknowledgment of the funding source for the facility; and

WHEREAS, as a participant in the states' recently settled lawsuit against tobacco companies, Montana will receive approximately $832 million over a period of time; and

WHEREAS, using tobacco settlement dollars for the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum is an appropriate use of the funds because not only will the facility bring tourists and dollars to the community, but the tobacco-use prevention exhibit will expose countless young people to the health dangers of tobacco use.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Tobacco settlement proceeds for museum. (1) The first $100 million in payments received after December 1, 1998, as a portion of Montana's allocable share pursuant to the master settlement agreement in Civil Action No. 9700306-14, filed in the first judicial district as the settlement of a legal action against participating tobacco product manufacturers, must be deposited in a state special revenue account to the credit of the department of commerce.

(2) The entire $100 million must be granted to the entities responsible for the construction of the interpretive center and museum at Fort Peck dam in northeastern Montana.

(3) In recognition of the source of funding for the project, the interpretive center and museum must include exhibits that demonstrate the effects of tobacco use, that advocate prevention of tobacco use among young people, and that encourage the reduction of tobacco use.

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Appropriation. The $100 million allocation in [section 1] is appropriated to the department of commerce for purposes of making the grants provided for in [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1999.

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