Homestead bill will provide tax relief
During my campaign to be your state representative last year, I promised to seek solutions to our affordable housing crisis and skyrocking property taxes. These problems have hit rural western Montana especially hard as we see industries disappear, and good jobs along with them.
That’s why I’ll be supporting the Homestead, Comstead and Agstead Exemption bill to provide immediate and permanent property tax relief to homeowners in my district. We see thousands of out-of-state tourists stream through places like St. Regis every summer, and tourism is an important industry for our part of the state. But these visitors also need to pay their fair share for the services they use. HB 231 will make sure vacation property owners contribute to our tax base, with redirected funds going straight to tax decreases for Montana homeowners, renters, and small business owners.
As I talked with voters around the district, making sure our rural hospitals stay open and we have access to quality health care was also a top concern. Montana has the most conservative Medicaid expansion program in the nation, and it has been an example for many other states to follow. Strong work requirements and copays mean Medicaid is a hand up, not just a hand out. If we don’t renew our Medicaid expansion program, rural Montanans will suffer the most from hospital and clinic closures, with rural residents forced to drive hours to places like Missoula for care. I’m going to put my district first and support renewal of this important program.
Other legislation I’m prioritizing includes a bill to increase first-year teacher pay, helping us attract quality educators to rural Montana and make sure they can afford to live, work, and raise their families here. As a long-time high school athletics volunteer, I believe strong schools are the future of western Montana. We can increase funding for our schools without raising property taxes, and I’ll be voting to do just that.
These are some of my top priorities as I serve you, the residents of HD 90. Please reach out to me any time at Curtis.Cochran@legmt.gov with input, questions, concerns, or ideas you have to strengthen our great corner of Montana.
Rep. Curtis Cochran, R-St. Regis