Republican State Senator Matt Rosendale has introduced legislation to encourage ammunition manufacturers to bring their businesses to Montana. 

Rosendale, the Senate Majority Leader, said it doesn't matter how many firearms a citizen might have, with no ammunition, they are useless.

"There's only one factory that produces smokeless powder for ammunition and it's down in Florida, and the bulk of their business is done with the Department of Defense," Rosendale said. "What we're trying to do with Senate Bill 122 is first, to uphold and support the Second Amendment, because if you don't have a good steady supply of ammunition, then all your firearms are just an expensive collection of baseball bats for protection. The second reason is, since there are so many components that go into making ammunition, this could be a huge job creator for the state."

Rosendale said his bill offers various tax incentives to convince ammunition manufacturers to relocate to Montana.

"The bill would reduce the tax burden on the manufacturer for the first 10 years, along with the business equipment tax and would also reduce the real estate tax levies for 10 years to try to motivate them to relocate here in Montana," he said. "In return, we'd ask for a commitment that they not commit all their product to just one customer, so that there would always be a good supply of powder for the ammunition assemblers in Montana."

Rosendale said the bill has been through several sessions of the legislature, and has been fine-tuned to help assure its passage in 2015.

"We've already passed it through the Senate, and we had a successful hearing in a House committee yesterday," he said. "we anticipate the bill to hit the House floor sometime next week. The bill has tremendous potential to add hundreds of jobs to Montana and to tie in with many other businesses already here in Montana."

The bill, if signed by Governor Steve Bullock, would take effect immediately.

 

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