b'2023 WPMA State ReportMONTANAPetroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association Report2023 has been off to a fast and furious pacefor the MPMCSA. The 68th session of the Montana Legislature started in January. Our citizen legislature meets biannually for 90 days and it seems that each year is getting busier. At the start of the session there were over 4,000 bill draft requests. Our state has a unique problem this year with a budget surplus but also is facing unprecedented shortages of affordable housing, childcare, and a rapidly ris-ing cost of living. Governor Gianforte set forth his Red Tape Initiative as a measure to review and reform the regulatory process to encourage economic growth in the state and remove any inefficiencies that could be identified. At Brad Longcakethe halfway point in March, over 800 bills had cleared at least one of the two MPMCSA Executive Director legislative chambers. I have been tracking almost 200 bills that would affect our members across the state. The Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Board and Fund have been under scrutiny again this session. The legislative audit completed in 2021 high-lighted areas where the fund was performing well and areas that could be improved upon. The DEQ took it upon themselves to bring forward their own language as how to address one of the key takeaways of the audit. This pro-posed language was not supported by the MPMCSA. I have worked closely with the bill sponsor to address the problems this proposed language would create and to protect this valuable resource for our members. The MPMCSA executive board and I have had countless meetings and have worked hard to find common ground among the stakeholders to achieve meaningful solutions. Electric vehicles have been the subject of a number of pieces of legislation. There is a bill that would tax EV charging stations that has faced controversy related to the mechanism of tax collection, as this tax would be based on the Kilowatt hour. Additional challenges with this bill involve the owner/opera-tors inability to resell electricity under Montana law. Additionally, anyone looking to place a charging station at their place of business would be required to collect and remit the tax to the state. There is a second EV bill that looks to create an additional fee at the time of vehicle registration. This bill is intended to capture the lost revenue for infrastructure typically collected through the gas tax. There was a slew of bills related to the Red Tape Reduction along with the usual cast of alcohol, tax, and local control bills. This session has kept us on our toes and will continue to do so as it comes to a close in May. Our annual convention and trade show is fast approaching. We will be at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, June 6th through June 8th. We will again start off with either golf or trap shooting on Tuesday. As always there will be a few new twists for the golfers to contend with. Tuesday evening we will have our social hour to allow us to reconnect. Wednesday we plan to welcome the Lieutenant Governor, Kristen Juras; the Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, and will have Representative Matt Rosendale join us on Zoom. Wednesday evening we will again enjoy dinner with the live and silent auction andpresentation of our annual scholarship winner. S24 www.wpma.com / Post WPMAEXPO 2023'