Revise infrastructure loan program and tax credit

Removed eligibility for using loans to raise salaries, wages, and business incomes of existing employees and employers.

Prohibited the infrastructure use fee from being claimed as a tax credit or a tax deduction.

Updated the bill title to accurately reflect the removal of wage increase eligibility and the prohibition on tax credits.

Removed eligibility for loans intended to increase wages or business incomes of existing employees and employers.

Prohibited the Infrastructure Use Fee from being claimed as a tax credit or a tax deduction.

Added a requirement that at least 30% of debt incurred in excess of 6% of the trust fund must be held by a commercial lender.

Set a $70 million cap on loans made pursuant to 17-6-317 and established a minimum loan size of $250,000.

Removed eligibility for loans intended to raise salaries, wages, or business incomes of existing employees and employers.

Added a requirement that loans under the economic development program must result in the creation of at least 15 permanent, full-time jobs in Montana.

Set a total cap of $80 million for loans made pursuant to the economic development loan section.

Added a condition that loans cannot be issued until the board is satisfied that the job creation requirements will be met.

Clarified that the infrastructure use fee cannot be claimed as a tax credit or a deduction.

The bill title and header were updated from LC 0076 to HB 16.1, indicating a change in bill number and version status to an authorized print.

A new clause was inserted requiring the board to verify that a specific condition in section 17-6-309(2) will be met before any loan can be made under that section.

A new sentence was added to handle the scenario where the required condition is not met, addressing how credits should be handled, although the full text of this consequence is incomplete.