In addition to a committee bill on broadband infrastructure incentives adopted June 30 for introduction in the 2021 Legislature, the committee proposed as placeholders, subject to further review, the following proposals:

• a bill allowing immediate family members to hold licenses in more than one tier of the alcohol industry;
• a bill revising the term "owner/operator" that collects lodging facility use taxes to match the term "seller" that is used to collect accommodations taxes. Currently hotel and motel operators must collect both taxes. Short-term rental providers, such as those operating through short-term rental platforms like AirBnB, only have to collect the accommodations tax because of a Supreme Court decision distinguishing between owner/operators and sellers.
• a more encompassing bill proposed by the Department of Revenue that would combine the lodging facility use tax and the accommodations tax into one. 

Another placeholder bill on historical horseracing will be posted under the Legislation Tab of the Economic Affairs Interim Committee website when it becomes available.

The bill drafts will be discussed during the Sept. 10 meeting of the Economic Affairs Interim Committee. Public comment will be accepted and forwarded to committee members in written form if received prior to Aug. 26 or in electronic form if received between Aug. 26 and Sept. 8. Public comment also will be taken during the Sept. 10 meeting. Written or electronic comments may be sent to the Economic Affairs Interim Committee by postal mail at PO Box 201706, Helena MT 59620-1706 or electronically to pmurdo@mt.gov. Please be aware that public comment is part of the public record.