Dear MSSA Friends,
HB 226 is scheduled for Second Reading debate and vote on the House
floor tomorrow, Wednesday, February 6. HB 226 is MSSA’s bill to exempt
nonprofit shooting ranges from property taxes.
You need to get a message to your Representative in the House asking him
or her to please support HB 226. Here are some talking points:
1. Shooting range clubs are community service organizations that are
valuable to the communities they serve. Such ranges provide a safe and
suitable place for Montana’s many gun owners to practice with, test,
sight in, and use their firearms, thereby decreasing potential conflicts
on other private and public lands.
2. Many range-owning clubs have sought federal 501(C) status in order
to avoid property taxes and plow the money saved back into range
operation and improvement. The purpose of HB 226 is to create an
opportunity for such clubs to get the same result under state law,
rather than driving them into the clutches of the IRS for that benefit.
3. HB 226 has multiple conditions included to proof it against abuse,
including that a qualifying club must be a nonprofit corporation under
Montana law, must have officers, directors, and a registered agent, and
more.
4. The Fiscal Note for HB 226 shows zero fiscal impact. Those who
researched and wrote the Fiscal Note cannot identify any cost from HB
226 that may be shifted to other taxpayers.
Feel free to use any or all of these talking points, but try to express
them in your own words when you message your Representative.
Thanks loads for your help.
Best wishes,