Montana House passes $80M infrastructure bonding bill

HELENA (AP) - The Montana House has passed a bill that would allow the state to borrow $80 million to pay for building and infrastructure projects.

The measure passed a final 68-30 vote on Friday and now goes to the Senate. The bill requires a two-thirds majority to pass because it proposes putting the state into debt.

Its passage ends the previous two sessions' stalemate in which the House rejected infrastructure bills that included bonding.

This year, a plan by Republican Rep. Eric Moore of Miles City would set limits on how much debt the state could take on, cap debt payments and set aside cash for projects each year.

Lee Newspapers of Montana reports the bill that passed Friday includes $16 million for Montana State University's Romney Hall instead of the $25 million in an earlier version.