This bill amends the distribution of oil and natural gas production taxes and revises the deposits to the Oil and Gas Production Damage Mitigation Account in Montana. Specifically, it modifies Section 15-36-331 to stipulate that after certain allocations, any remaining funds must be deposited into the Oil and Gas Production Damage Mitigation Account unless the account's unobligated cash balance equals or exceeds $10 million. In that case, the funds will remain in the board's expense account as reserves or for legislative transfer related to oil and gas production impacts. Additionally, the bill clarifies the allocation of taxes to counties and the distribution of state portions of the taxes.

Furthermore, Section 82-11-161 is amended to outline the funding mechanisms for the Oil and Gas Production Damage Mitigation Account, including a biennial allocation of $650,000 from the interest income of the resource indemnity trust fund, contingent on the account's cash balance. If the balance is below $1 million, the allocation will be adjusted accordingly. The bill also specifies that all funds received by the board under certain provisions must be deposited into the mitigation account. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1(1): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1(2): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1(3): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1(4): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1(5): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1(6): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_1: 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X(1): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X(2): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X(3): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X(4): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X(5): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X(6): 15-36-331, 82-11-161
SB0339_X: 15-36-331, 82-11-161