_____________ bill NO. _____________

INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________

By Request of the State Library Commission

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT REVISING LAWS PROVIDING STATE AID TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES; INCLUDING CERTAIN ACCREDITED TRIBAL COLLEGE LIBRARIES IN THE DEFINITION OF PUBLIC LIBRARY; EXTENDING THE TERMINATION DATE FOR THE PER CAPITA STATE AID FORMULA FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES; INCREASING THE PER RESIDENT AID AMOUNT; providing A revised STATUTORY APPROPRIATION; AMENDING SECTIONS 22-1-326 AND 22-1-327, MCA; AMENDING SECTION 5, CHAPTER 244, LAWS OF 2013, AND SECTION 1, CHAPTER 340, LAWS OF 2017; and PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATEs."

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

Section 1. Section 22-1-326, MCA, is amended to read:

"22-1-326. State aid to public libraries. (1) As used in 22-1-326 through 22-1-331, "public library" means a library created under Title 7 or under 22-1-301 through 22-1-317 or an accredited tribal college library that provides services to the public.

(2) As provided in 22-1-325 through 22-1-329, the commission shall administer state aid to public libraries and public library districts created and operated under part 7 of this chapter. The purposes of state aid are to:

(a) broaden access to existing information by strengthening public libraries and public library districts;

(b) augment and extend services provided by public libraries and public library districts; and

(3) Money appropriated for the purposes of this section may not be used to supplant general operating funds of recipient public libraries or public library districts. The commission may withhold a distribution to a library or district that receives less support from a mill levy or local government appropriation than its average for the preceding 3 fiscal years if the decrease may reasonably be linked to money received or expected to be received under 22-1-325 through 22-1-329."

Section 2. Section 22-1-327, MCA, is amended to read:

"22-1-327. State aid -- per capita -- per square mile. (1) The commission shall distribute grants to public libraries and public library districts on a per capita and per square mile basis.

(2) The total amount of annual per capita and per square mile funding to public libraries for each fiscal year is the base amount of 40 50 cents multiplied by the total number of residents of the state as determined by the most recent decennial census of the population produced by the U.S. bureau of the census.

(3) The amount determined under subsection (2) is statutorily appropriated, as provided in 17-7-502, from the general fund to the commission for distribution as state aid to public libraries. (Subsections (2) and (3) terminate July 1, 2023 2029--sec. 1, Ch. 340, L. 2017.)"

Section 3. Section 5, Chapter 244, Laws of 2013, is amended to read:

"Section 5. Termination. [This act] terminates July 1, 20172029."

Section 4. Section 1, Chapter 340, Laws of 2017, is amended to read:

"Section 1. Section 5, Chapter 244, Laws of 2013, is amended to read:

"Section 5. Termination. [This act] terminates July 1,20172023 2029.""

NEW SECTION. Section 5. Notification to tribal governments. The secretary of state shall send a copy of [this act] to each federally recognized tribal government in Montana.

NEW SECTION. Section 6. Effective date. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), [this act] is effective July 1, 2023.

(2) [Sections 3 and 4] and this section are effective on passage and approval.