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Home My WebLink About06-04-26 Correspondence - Montana Department of Commerce - Commerce Weekly Roundup - Volume 3, Issue 22From:Montana Department of CommerceTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]Commerce Weekly Roundup - Volume 3, Issue 22Date:Thursday, June 4, 2026 2:01:34 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. June 4, 2026 – News, events, grants, loans and other funding opportunities Montana Department of Commerce Weekly Roundup The Weekly Roundup is a summary of events, news and information important to Commerce's constituents this week. Click on any topic for more information. Business The Opportunities in Rural Economies Program is accepting applications from economic development organizations through its online application portal. The enrollment period is open-ended; organizations engaged in active economic development are encouraged to apply. Lenders interested in participating in the ORE Loan Participation Program may contact program staff for more information and, if eligible, will be required to execute a General Lender Loan Servicing Agreement with Commerce. For more information, contact Business Resource Partner Josh Bennett at 406-841-2748 or josh.bennett@mt.gov. The Wood Products Revolving Loan Fund is accepting new applications. The program offers a loan participation structure for requests up to $2 million and continues to provide direct loans to eligible businesses for amounts under $1 million. The application portal will remain open until all available funds are committed, with approximately $1.4 million currently available. For more information, contact Program Specialist Chris Ryan at chris.ryan@mt.gov. The Montana State Small Business Credit Initiative 2.0 Loan Participation Program-Recycled Funds application is open and will remain so for the duration of the program, with capital availability contingent on repayments from existing borrowers. A list of participating lenders with funds for recycling is on the SSBCI web page. Native American Collateral Support Program funding is available. The NACS Program is accepting applications online, which can be found on the website under “Application Process.” Currently, approximately $95,593 in cash funding is available. For more information, contact Program Specialist Chris Ryan at chris.ryan@mt.gov or 406-841-2594. Join Commerce’s export team for a trade mission to Argentina and Uruguay, Sept. 7-11. Montana companies are well-positioned to benefit from exports and increase their international sales in these countries. For more information, contact our export team. Join Commerce’s export team for a trade mission to India, Oct. 5-9, to initiate or expand your business profile there. For more information, contact our export team. Housing Montana Board of Housing Public Meeting: June 8. This meeting will include the Board’s consideration of submitted loan applications. Montana Board of Housing Public Meeting: July 20. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has published the following income and rent limits for the HOME Investment Partnerships and Housing Trust Fund programs. The new limits became effective June 1, 2026. HOME income limits HOME rent limits HTF income limits HTF rent limits HUD also released the HOME per-unit subsidy limits, which Commerce applies to HOME and HTF projects. They are now incorporated in the Maximum Subsidy tab of the Pro Forma and Subsidy Review Spreadsheet on Commerce’s website. The per- unit subsidy limits became effective May 11, 2026. Housing Partnership Conference Update: Thank you to all who attended the 2026 Montana Housing Partnership Conference. We hope you found this year’s conference to be a valuable use of your time and sponsorship. The Montana Housing Partnership Conference steering committee is comprised of leadership from NeighborWorks Montana, the Montana Department of Commerce and the administratively attached Montana Board of Housing. The steering committee has decided to shift from an annual in-person conference each spring to a biennial conference alternating with the legislature's schedule. The next in-person conference will be held in the spring of 2028. While some attendees may be disappointed with this change, the Montana Housing Partnership is dedicated to providing ways for housing professionals, policymakers, developers and advocates to meaningfully connect. This change will allow for expanded opportunities for professional development, networking and peer-to-peer exchange on an on-going basis. The Montana Housing Partnership looks forward to sharing more information soon about its upcoming activities. Infrastructure and Planning The Lead Service Line Technical Assistance Program migrated to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality on May 9. Contact Drinking Water Scientist Jayde Duysen at DEQ at jayde.duysen@mt.gov or 406-444-0917 for help regarding lead service lines. The Montana Main Street Program seeks additions to its MMS murals catalog. MMS members may submit a mural by visiting the project's web page. The Community Development Block Grant Planning Program will accept applications for a third round of funding now through 11:59 p.m. on July 10. Application guidelines are available on the CDBG planning web page. Apply through the grants and loans portal. The Community Technical Assistance Program is available to help with community planning needs, including growth policies, subdivision regulations, downtown master plans or long- or short-range planning. Contact the CTAP team for more information. Commerce News/Upcoming Events Gov. Greg Gianforte Announces Janicki Industries Selects Great Falls for $800 Million Manufacturing Facility The Montana Heritage Commission will meet tomorrow, June 5, at 9 a.m. via Zoom and in-person at Virginia City. In-person space is limited. Registration is required for online participation; click the Zoom link in advance to do so. The Montana Departments of Commerce and Public Health and Human Services announce a joint public hearing for the 2025-2026 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report: The 2025-2026 CAPER, which reports accomplishments and progress on consolidated plan goals for the State of Montana’s Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Housing Trust Fund and Emergency Solutions Grant programs is available for public comment from May 26 to June 12, 2026. The 2025-2026 CAPER covers the period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. Public comments regarding the 2025-2026 CAPER must be submitted to the address or email below no later than June 12, 2026 at 5 p.m. MST. For more information and to provide oral comments, the public is invited to attend a virtual public hearing on June 10, 2026 at 2 p.m. MST. The public hearing will be held on Zoom and presentation materials will be available on Commerce’s website prior to the public hearing. The State of Montana will consider any comments or views provided in writing during the specified comment periods or orally during the public hearing. To participate in the public hearing, follow the information on Commerce’s website. This week, Commerce's Research and Information Services Bureau and Business MT Division will assist Commerce Deputy Director Mandy Rambo in inviting partners to nominate eligible census tracts for state-designated opportunity zones. Opportunity zones are a federal incentive program aimed at attracting private investment to economically distressed communities, particularly rural. Following updated U.S. Census data, 58 low-income tracts in Montana qualify; however, the governor may nominate only 25. Applications will be evaluated and ranked based on criteria including community support, project feasibility and readiness for investment before recommendations are submitted to the governor. This is the second round of designations; an earlier round went into effect in 2018. Each eligible tract may have only one application, requiring coordination among local jurisdictions like tribal governments, economic development organizations, etc. Nominations must be submitted by July 7, 2026 with final selections made by the governor in September. Among the benefits of opportunity zones are deferral and potential elimination of capital gains taxes, financial support of local economic development, local businesses, real estate investment and additional tax base for infrastructure improvements. Early bird registration is open for the 2026 Montana Department of Commerce Governor’s Conference on Tourism. This year’s conference will be held Sept. 16-18 in Great Falls. The event brings together more than 350 tourism and business professionals to educate, network and inspire one another. Instead of standard breakout sessions, rural immersive experiences will be offered and are designed to show attendees what Montana's landscapes need to thrive. Register today! UPDATE SUBSCRIBER PREFERENCES Montana Department of Commerce 301 S Park Ave, Helena, MT 59620 Contact Us: 406-841-2700 commerce.mt.gov This email was sent to comments@bozeman.net using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: MontanaDepartment of Commerce · P.O. Box 200501 · Helena, MT 59620-0501 View as a webpage Unsubscribe Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on yourSubscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. Discover information about additional topics at Commerce. Sign up for more topics. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. Montana Department of Commerce 301 S Park Ave, Helena, MT 59620 406-841-2700