[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6107050,"mediaKeyId","2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb","parentId",2779056,"title","Committee hears bill to move emergency care provider licensing from medical board to Department of Labor program","audioSeconds",2450,"startMs",893000,"endMs",3343000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb&start=893&end=3343","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb/thumbnail_893000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6107050/Montana/Committee-hears-bill-to-move-emergency-care-provider-licensing-from-medical-board-to-Department-of-Labor-program","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107050-2eb225e807007d803e85553501855335/orig.mp4?Expires=1770971469&Signature=QbsDqMslJIPQSXmfg-zDLOba0G0ZTZFzIKEtkLQ1-k-u0GibCmad3wSmAyMbH6hGKezW8EMNIX5hRH-20wPWdKUnR1pA6Lb7QDUUzqwJivP9fGfVJpc8fMe4SC-d7P3Gvi4~6YuLk4EsYICCeEPFgj~RrmFgsatVlfP7MuuglaTJR94SuyrI76HqadslHDA2ozRjA6LMgXZs73uv3JcWQ-n0TxW-cWO4Vs-MVa3-bXI-Z2gFvLmOfdEw7y94-5T0lcU~o0BFgcZqrzxOrOeQrex1g2k3IBPD4qZS7odFl-1lGRn8HQqcv62QHtxTL3VANFkBWFvPQsRjISADAjTR8Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-26T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Bill 518, introduced by Sen. Derek Harvey, would remove emergency care providers (ECPs) — including EMTs and paramedics — from under the Board of Medical Examiners and make them a licensure program within the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). The House Business and Labor Committee heard the bill and heard both supporters and opponents describe how the change would affect training, protocol changes and statewide medical oversight.

Why it matters: Committee members were told the move would let DLI implement licensing rules and program changes more quickly and reduce costs for licensees, a point proponents said matters especially in rural Montana. Opponents — including volunteer EMS managers and emergency physicians — said the change risks weakening physician-level oversight for high-risk, out‑of‑hospital care and asked for explicit statewide medical leadership to be preserved.

Sen. Derek Harvey (Senate District 37) told the committee the bill “brings efficient implementation of procedures and devices into our protocols” and said moving ECP licensure to DLI would “help to keep our license rates affordable for all emergency care providers across the state” and aid recruitment and retention.

Joel Gaertig, a 15‑year paramedic and captain with the Missoula Fire Department speaking for Montana Professional Firefighters, said EMTs and paramedics operate in uncontrolled environments that other medical professionals may not understand and that DLI oversight would let the profession “tailor emergency medical care for emergency medical care providers.”

Sarah Swanson, commissioner in charge of professional occupational licensure at DLI, described the department’s view that the change would not remove required physician medical directors or DPHHS’s role licensing facilities. “Functionally for a licensee, nothing will change,” Swanson said, adding DLI already maintains a physician medical director on staff and that moving ECPs to a program would allow DLI to respond more quickly to training and certification issues, especially in rural areas.

Opponents pressed for more explicit medical oversight. Sam Alpert, an EMS agency manager and chair of the Lewis and Clark Rural Fire Council’s EMS committee, said volunteers make up the largest group of providers in the state and worry the shift would replace a deliberative board with a single administrative authority whose processes and experts are not yet defined. “Changing the system will require every agency manager and every licensee to learn how to do things,” Alpert said, and volunteers may lack time to track faster rule changes.

Dr. John Gildea, a residency‑trained emergency physician and medical director for multiple EMS agencies, urged the committee to preserve a state EMS medical director with emergency‑medicine training. Gildea argued that many out‑of‑hospital care decisions require emergency‑medicine expertise and that a statutory role for an EMS medical director would provide consistent access to that expertise.

Other opponents, including Sarah Monroe, a hospital‑based paramedic and service manager, warned the bill leaves unanswered questions about who would approve special licensing requests and whether DLI will have adequate staffing or funding to take on the work now handled through the board and its rulemaking process. “We can’t afford to gamble with patient care and provider safety while it is sorted out,” Monroe said.

DLI’s chief legal counsel Quentin O’Connor explained DLI already drafts and implements administrative rules and that program rulemaking would follow the same MAPA processes used now. He said DLI’s experience moving other professions from board oversight to programs shows the substance of rules would largely be transferred rather than reinvented, and that department staff — not volunteer board members — do most day‑to‑day license administration today.

Closing, Sen. Harvey urged a “strong due pass,” and said Representative Etchart had agreed to carry the bill if the committee advances it. The committee took no formal vote during the hearing.

Next steps: The bill remains at the hearing stage; supporters and opponents asked the committee to either move it forward with assurances about physician involvement or to amend the measure to create a statutory role for ongoing emergency physician‑level involvement.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Business and Labor - Wednesday, Mar 26, 2025 07:58 - 10:25","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 518, introduced by Sen. Derek Harvey, would move licensing for emergency care providers (EMTs and paramedics) out from under the Board of Medical Examiners and into a program run by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6107037,"Committee hears bill to allow businesses and collectors to pass credit‑card transaction fees to customers, capped at 3% with disclosure",1811,4934000,6745000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb&start=4934&end=6745","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb/thumbnail_4934000.jpg","/articles/6107037/Montana/Committee-hears-bill-to-allow-businesses-and-collectors-to-pass-creditcard-transaction-fees-to-customers-capped-at-3-with-disclosure","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107037-3103c21c56fbc9fb99b285652cabf42f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770971469&Signature=CKW9qdJMip1mXSCPt-o9YQuc-9ZzQm1MMkHEOIrc~9TrIxArJzX~WgYb5ehY-utcadn0dPUa22t796-X5Q0aZmowbUTmMDgydq-BwKrr2Fkgk~E2OfLWx1O87o2rcHBr9dK1bd~fqOpZn~00DBuQMJB1iahjTNivFELLwC6TYJdbPqukyZuPARXmA-Luek2ud0J9Sdpoo0oahBE~AuNDE-ZVYWRt~APVhXtkXo6SZ44-hWdXAqCKTiTvq3hhqlgG4IbE8zmHtfybRReEGXFw7VrIBpxy3AVaSeKQeMZRF8RNdXbj5fuZ7BbmPnaoxgO0ZVYtilVm~lxa2t9-NWwZ4w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 528, introduced by Sen. Jeremy Trebis, would allow landlords, merchants, property managers, creditors and others to assess a credit‑card transaction fee of up to 3% of the transaction amount so long as the fee is clearly disclosed to the payer before the transaction. The House Business and Labor Committee heard proponents who said the cap and disclosure protect consumers while letting small businesses and collection agencies recover processing costs.

Why it matters: Proponents said certain businesses — notably small collection agencies and convenience‑store retailers — currently absorb card processing fees that can add up to sizable annual expenses. The bill’s supporters argued the statutory authorization would allow those businesses to accept more card types and recover the out‑of‑pocket cost while providing consumers the option to choose another payment method.

Brian Thompson, attorney for the Montana Collectors Association, said federal guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requires either a state law or an explicit contract term to allow collection agencies to pass card fees to consumers. Thompson said the bill “provides broad consumer protection and levels the playing field” by capping fees at 3% and requiring disclosure.

Jennifer Whipple, president of Collection Bureau Services in Missoula, said her agency wants to offer card payment convenience for consumers but cannot reliably pass card fees to payers under current federal guidance without a state law. “We simply want to provide a service and convenience to our consumers who want that and they want to pay in that way,” Whipple said.

Brad Longcake of the Montana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association said convenience stores face large annual card‑processing bills; he told the committee an average convenience store pays roughly $130,000 a year in card fees and that a statutory cap would allow smaller merchants to recoup costs without charging excessive percentages.

Committee members asked how the bill would treat debit cards and online payments, and whether businesses could always impose the full 3% irrespective of the card’s actual interchange charge. Witnesses said the bill applies to credit cards; debit cards use different processing and were not covered in the bill language. Thompson and other proponents said the 3% cap was chosen because actual interchange rates vary by card brand and merchant agreements, and a uniform cap is easier to administer than a card‑by‑card accounting of exact interchange costs.

The hearing closed with no opponents in the room and no committee vote recorded.","Senate Bill 528 would permit landlords, merchants, vendors and debt collectors to add a credit‑card transaction fee not exceeding 3% if the charge is disclosed before the transaction; proponents said the change levels the playing field and helps small businesses and collection agencies recoup processing costs.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6107042,"Senate bill would clarify hotels and tourist homes aren’t treated as long‑term property managers under Title 37",168,152000,320000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb&start=152&end=320","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb/thumbnail_152000.jpg","/articles/6107042/Montana/Senate-bill-would-clarify-hotels-and-tourist-homes-arent-treated-as-longterm-property-managers-under-Title-37","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107042-1d0f7603ab9ad297d1b190fbd3983659/orig.mp4?Expires=1770971469&Signature=g~Nfr8EZAInr4nYgQQRE7eL-FMP8wNT8RgaGv3qaqS9acV6w7R8ctUa8Uc2LEep7ceTl1fsTIIlxK0L1zohXbal7XIThDGH1RMubAz03awE8VMisSuiVyPQxS57qA6dWZeC6jkO6W118B6Pu2IAWtyMcVIoEg1sKHig3jp-tQ9PWKenr7IEva-N-FXR4hUuQAd9zXrvrdq009VHMg4xi3DIDK-GMtLsn9hE6sZX03fCBF9IhiLmjfiP-U95bDvqq6fqg2ZZ4wDSlhLJXEioyNMbmx-rzcIwSp7l1HrDLCRYylWBZwdCiRxQKVbb7ELERiRdd6oQ3BdWBhrps~i9Sug__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 442, sponsored in the committee by Sen. Sue Vinton, would explicitly exempt short‑term hotel and tourist home operators licensed under Montana Code Annotated Title 50 from being treated as property managers under Title 37. In her presentation, Vinton said the change would align statutes with historic practice and avoid applying long‑term landlord rules to transient guests.

Why it matters: The bill aims to confirm that property management statutes and rules intended for long‑term housing don’t govern hotels and tourist homes whose guests are transient and who are licensed under Title 50. Supporters said Title 50 already imposes hygiene, bedding, cleanliness and licensing rules for hotels and tourist homes.

Sen. Sue Vinton (Senate District 20) told committee members the bill “confirms the historic practice of the department of labor to not treat hotel and tourist home operators as property managers.” She said Title 37’s property management rules are meant for long‑term housing and agencies should rely on Title 50 for hotel and tourist home regulation.

Quentin O’Connor, chief legal counsel for DLI, appeared as an informational witness and said he was available to answer questions. No proponents or opponents from the public were recorded for the hearing, and no committee vote was taken during the session.

Next steps: The hearing was opened and closed with the sponsor available for questions; the committee did not take a formal vote on SB 442 during the recorded proceedings.","Sen. Sue Vinton said SB 442 would confirm that managers of short‑term hotel and tourist home rentals licensed under MCA Title 50 Chapter 51 are not subject to the property management statutes in Title 37; the Department of Labor and Industry provided informational testimony and no public opponents appeared.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6107046,"Bill would let dealers file abandoned-vehicle lien claims in small or municipal courts instead of district court, sponsor says",1587,3344000,4931000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb&start=3344&end=4931","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779056-7a39dc3e75856db60e4f515e9a7e16bb/thumbnail_3344000.jpg","/articles/6107046/Montana/Bill-would-let-dealers-file-abandoned-vehicle-lien-claims-in-small-or-municipal-courts-instead-of-district-court-sponsor-says","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107046-a49ba8e268bcb1b796dfc58feb649bc8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770971469&Signature=GU-LiC9N3Olq0ShCBoL6F7d9ezEO1kgerCZwv~AUFhc7md2eRs86DkaoSeeEBvoGJwcos-~IR9xrg3BMK2DUc~hWgFgT5t8isDMwuhEzMB5hnor9199N4szMY8RUIDGnRDGpUwPVu97UNmwTFubAbIjI2F7ysiW1EyNJcwghBiFxChzV8f60n-cO-FIH~MN235TLOuPuJpfhWrIyWQ19gqaSWkB3Jkot6QLKA9mK9GOEZHsKJakE81asNGMInWCah-PHCALmg3~MpRThgjMvjVmIKu1L3MCViGZ-TkhahpsIB3ynIkzxZys0Q6TlpO~5ilwaXsSFFlSvNMLzgvH~aA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 373, presented to the House Business and Labor Committee by Sen. Barry Usher, would amend Montana’s adjuster’s‑lien statute to let owners and service providers file claims in any court of competent jurisdiction — including small claims, municipal or justice courts — rather than requiring district court for all cases. Supporters told the committee the change would reduce time and legal expense for auto dealers, RV and boat dealers, contractors and farmers who hold property subject to liens.

Why it matters: Proponents said the current requirement to bring some lien matters in district court makes otherwise small, low‑value claims cost‑prohibitive. They urged the change would free up lot space, speed resolution and lower legal costs for smaller businesses across the state.

Sen. Barry Usher summarized the bill’s intent as “a cleanup bill” to streamline the lien process for abandoned vehicles and other property left in dealers’ care. He told the committee that the current district‑court requirement can take months or more than a year and that allowing filings in lower courts — where appropriate by claim value — would speed recovery.

Bruce Knudson, executive vice president of the Montana Auto Dealers Association, said the fix would benefit many classes of businesses and called the change “very simple.” Craig Charlton, attorney for the dealers association, said the adjuster’s lien originally addressed agricultural situations such as boarding livestock and that the proposed change ties the statute’s filing and notice steps to existing court procedural rules so clerks and litigants understand how notices and hearings will be scheduled.

Dealers described operational problems. Eric Henricksen, who owns two dealerships in Ronan, said he currently has eight inoperable or low‑value vehicles that occupy space and present handling challenges; three of his vehicles have been on the lot for more than five years. He said the current process is cumbersome and often requires hiring an attorney to use district court.

Proponents outlined notice and service rules included in the bill: certified mail and required clerk‑issued notices for hearings; they told the committee the legislation clarifies existing procedural steps rather than changing notice rights. Witnesses said the statute’s change does not eliminate notice to owners — it instead provides a clearer path to hearing scheduling in courts that handle lower dollar claims.

No opponents appeared in the committee room, though committee members asked several procedural questions about notice, storage fees and how the change would affect liability for property on a dealer’s lot. Sponsor Sen. Usher and proponents said the bill does not alter property‑owner liability for injuries on private lots and that the statute’s process still requires certified notice to defendants.

Next steps: The hearing concluded with the sponsor urging a due‑pass vote; the committee did not record a formal vote during the hearing.","Senate Bill 373 aims to ease how dealers and service providers clear abandoned vehicles from private lots by allowing lien claims in any court of competent jurisdiction rather than district court; proponents told the committee the change would save time and money, while no opponents appeared at the hearing.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears bill to move emergency care provider licensing from medical board to Department of Labor program

Committee hears bill to allow businesses and collectors to pass credit‑card transaction fees to customers, capped at 3% with disclosure

Senate bill would clarify hotels and tourist homes aren’t treated as long‑term property managers under Title 37

Bill would let dealers file abandoned-vehicle lien claims in small or municipal courts instead of district court, sponsor says