Hearings Scheduled for Volunteer Firefighter Coverage Bills

Montana lawmakers will hear testimony this week on bills that would impose a sales tax on fireworks to cover the cost of mandating workers’ compensation coverage for volunteer firefighters. The House Committee on Taxation will deliberate the 5% sales tax on fireworks proposed in House Bill 28 during a meeting at 9 a.m. today. The tax proposed by Rep. David Fern, D-Whitefish, would go into effect Oct. 1 and be automatically repealed Sept. 30, 2023. The tax proposed in Fern’s bill would help pay for the workers’ compensation coverage that would be mandated in Senate Bill 29, ...