House Bill 368 moved forward on second reading after Representative Gary Perry told lawmakers the measure would create a dedicated fund to mitigate water infrastructure risk for Colstrip.

Perry, the bill’s sponsor, said Colstrip currently relies on two long pipelines — a 28-inch line about 50 years old and a 34-inch line about 40 years old — that carry water roughly 30 miles from the Yellowstone region into the town’s treatment plant. “We had a lot of studies done,” Perry said, and one study estimated replacing a single line would cost about $80,000,000 (figure cited by sponsor). He described the bill as a negotiated fix with pipeline owners and said funding would come from coal-severance tax revenue. “The way we’re setting this up is it’ll set up a $2,000,000 fund, and every year it’ll kick $2,000,000 out of that fund,” Perry said.

Representatives on the floor offered support after the sponsor described the outreach and amendments he negotiated with owners. Representative Gist thanked Perry for “being diligent,” and Representative Jay Hinkle and Representative Marler voiced support, saying the use of coal-severance money made sense for a community tied to that industry.

The motion that the committee recommend the bill "do pass" was made by Representative Perry. The clerk recorded 100 votes in favor as the committee completed second reading; the record shows Representative Fox and Representative Durham were noted as voting aye before the clerk announced the 100 affirmative votes. House Bill 368 is passed second reading.

The bill’s text (as read to the committee and described by the sponsor) establishes a town-specific infrastructure mitigation account and directs recurring coal-severance transfers into that account; the sponsor said the fund is intended to accumulate over decades to pay for replacement of aging transmission lines. Perry described the bill as limited in scope — focused on water infrastructure for Colstrip — and said it would not transfer other state responsibilities.

The committee discussion recorded on the floor focused on the urgency of the physical infrastructure and the source of funding; no amendment that altered the basic funding mechanism was recorded on the floor during second reading. The measure will continue through the House process.