Voters statewide pass Initiative 161

Montana voters on Tuesday passed a

measure to abolish approximately 7,800 outfitter-sponsored hunting

licenses – an issue particularly important to many locals who rely

on income from out-of-state hunters.

Initiative 161 will also raise fees on

nonresident licenses by about 50 percent.

Public access proponents said the

measure would stop what they viewed as the commercialization of

public wildlife. Meanwhile, critics believe the initiative would

hurt small outfitters who take clients on deer and elk hunts –

which could also negatively impact Montana’s economy.

Voters were in favor of the measure at

53.81 percent. In Lincoln County, 53.94 percent voted against the

initiative.

Three additional measures were on the

ballot. An initiative passed to put a 36-percent cap on payday loan

interest rates. Currently, those rates can run at annualized

interest rates of up to 650 percent. Initiative 164 passed with

71.73 percent of the statewide vote. Lincoln County’s results

reflected those at the state level with 73.76 percent in favor of

the cap.

Constitutional Initiative 105 passed to

prevent the adoption of a tax on the sale or inheritance of

property. Such a tax does not currently exist in Montana but there

had been talk of it during recent state legislative sessions. The

measure passed with 72.67 percent of the vote. Locally, voters in

Lincoln County favored the idea with 79.06 percent of the vote.

Voters said no to calling a convention

to rewrite the Montana Constitution. Under the law, voters every 20

years are asked if they want to consider such a convention. Voters

said no at a rate of 58.60 percent. In Lincoln County, the count

was 54.64 percent against.