Death, taxes and transfer: HB320 is the latest attempt to resurrect rejected land transfer legislation

Twenty-six days. That’s how long it took legislators to resuscitate legislation that supports transferring public land to the state, an idea Montanans have rejected time and time again. The newest effort, Representative Steve Gunderson’s house bill 320, is a misleading and cynical attempt to set the stage for yet another transfer push.

This wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing bill is a carbon copy of a bill introduced six years ago by then-senator Jennifer Fielder, an extreme transfer advocate, as part of a package of bills aimed at laying the groundwork for sale and transfer. Just like six years ago, le...