“I saw firsthand the tragic impact of natural disaster on communities and individuals,” said Nooney, a Republican state representative from Missoula. “It's difficult to explain the magnitude of damage I witnessed or the pain inflicted on people caught up in this tragedy.”
The tragedy got Nooney to thinking: What happens to Montanans when they're forced out of their homes by disasters, both natural and man-made? Where do those folks go?
“They experience the same sort of thing, which is more demand than they can fill for places for people to stay,” Nooney said Tuesday.
Patching together those two experiences, Nooney, Weese and others crafted a bill that had its first hearing Tuesday before the House Taxation Committee.
“I'd say it went very well, but it's the first step in a long process,” Nooney said after the hearing.
The bill would authorize a tax credit for hotels and motels that provide temporary lodging to people displaced from their homes by natural disasters or domestic violence.
“People would be able to stay at no cost to themselves, but it would only be for five days,” Nooney said. “That would give them the short-term relief they need, and the credit would help the business offset the cost of providing that service.”
Nooney said the bill has the support of the Montana Innkeepers Association, domestic violence advocates and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.
Although there was no fiscal note attached to the bill projecting its costs, Nooney said he and others produced an estimate of between $100,000 and $150,000.
“We anticipate that the need will be about 1,500 to 2,000 people a year, so I think our estimates are pretty conservative,” he said. “It's not a lot of money and it serves a very good purpose.”
Although natural disasters often represent the more dramatic side of human need, Nooney said it will be victims of domestic and sexual violence who benefit most from the program.
“We think that will be the greater percentage of people who take advantage of this program if we get it through,” he said. “It's clear talking to organizations that deal with these problems that the need is overwhelming. What's nice about this is that it gets state agencies, charities, nonprofits and business all working together for a common goal.”
Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or at mmoore@missoulian.com
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