The 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. Additionally, the bill clarifies the allocation of oil and natural gas production taxes to counties and outlines the distribution of the state portion of these taxes.

Furthermore, Section 82-11-161 is amended to establish the Oil and Gas Production Damage Mitigation Account within the state special revenue fund, detailing the allocation of $650,000 from the interest income of the resource indemnity trust fund at the beginning of each biennium, contingent on the account's cash balance. The bill also specifies that all funds received by the board under certain provisions must be deposited into this account. The effective date for these changes is set for 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