HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-02-26 Correspondence - MT Dept of Commerce - Commerce Weekly Roundup - Volume 3, I..From:Montana Department of CommerceTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL]Commerce Weekly Roundup - Volume 3, Issue 26Date:Thursday, July 2, 2026 2:02:07 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.
July 2, 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.
Infrastructure and Planning
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.
The Montana Coal Board will hold its next quarterly meeting on Sept. 10 in
Billings. Grant applications to be considered at this meeting are due no later than 11:59
p.m. on July 27. Visit the grants and loans portal to apply.
Commerce is proposing updates to the Community Development Block Grant
Program’s Public and Community Facilities application guidelines. The draft
document is available for review and public comment through July 3. Comments can
be submitted electronically to docadministrativerules@mt.gov or via mail to Montana
Department of Commerce, Community MT Division, 301 S Park Ave., PO Box 200501,
Helena, MT 59620.
Business
The Montana Department of Commerce has released revised guidelines for the
Montana Automation Financing Program, formerly the Montana Automation Loan
Program. The Montana Automation Financing Program suite now includes a direct loan
product and a collateral support product for Montana manufacturers. Commerce invites
public comment on the proposed guidelines before finalizing them. Comments will be
accepted until July 15 at 5 p.m. The draft guidelines are available at
commerce.mt.gov.
This is not a formal rulemaking process under Title 2, Chapter 4, of the Montana Code
Annotated. Commerce will finalize and post the following proposed guidelines after
giving the public an opportunity to comment. Send comments relating to the guidelines
to businessmt@mt.gov. If you need an accommodation, email businessmt@mt.gov or
call 406‑841‑2770.
The Montana Facility Finance Authority will host a free, in-person educational
session in Billings on Wednesday, July 22 from 7:30-9 a.m. at the Billings Library
Community Room, 510 N Broadway. This discussion will explore tax-exempt and
taxable bonds and how Montana’s C-PACE Program, Last Best PACE, can be
leveraged to finance development projects, create opportunities for expansion and
support long-term financial goals. The session will be followed by Q & A. RSVP to
mffa@mt.gov by Monday, July 20.
The Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer
Matching Funds Program opened for applications on July 1, 2026 via the online
application portal and will close on April 30, 2027. The Matching Funds Program
assists technology-based Montana companies by providing additional funding that can
be used for technology development or other purposes during the time that the
company is working on an SBIR/STTR project with a federal agency. This additional
funding increases the likelihood that technology-based Montana companies will
develop products and services that could be successfully marketed. Grants of up to
$30,000 are available. For more information, contact Grants Coordinator Kathy Bartlett
at kathy.bartlett@mt.gov or 406-841-2792.
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: July 20.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development request for information on
Build America, Buy America-compliant products: HUD is seeking public comments,
especially from product manufacturers, suppliers and distributors on domestic
availability of the product, if the product is BABA-compliant and the domestic capacity
to produce at scale. HUD is looking to capture information on a wide variety of
manufactured products and product categories but is especially interested in
information on the following items: HVAC systems, plumbing fixtures, door hardware,
elevators, fire alarm and suppression systems, solar panels, electrical components and
wood trusses.
The Request For Information was published June 18; HUD will accept comments for
30 days afterward. Please share the RFI with your partners, especially the general
contractors you have been working with already. It's important that HUD receives as
much information as possible because comments will help determine future guidance
or other actions related to BABA implementation.
American Rescue Plan Act Update: On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan
Act was signed into law and established the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund
and Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which together make up the Coronavirus
State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program. This program was intended to
support state, territorial, local and tribal governments in responding to the economic
and public health impacts of COVID-19 and in their efforts to contain impacts on their
communities, residents and businesses. This funding was used to provide ARPA gap
funds that ensured affordable housing development projects already in the pipeline that
were impacted by pandemic cost escalations will be completed. This will result in more
than 700 quality, affordable homes for Montana’s lower-wage workforce, seniors and
persons with disabilities.
The Montana Department of Commerce was required by the United Stated Department
of the Treasury to describe whether and how evidence-based interventions or program
evaluation were incorporated into our SLFRF program. In the absence of an evidence-
based intervention, projects were required to go through a rigorous program evaluation
designed to build evidence. You can now view the final evaluation report under the
"Reports" tab. It was completed in partnership with the University of Montana’s Center
for Children, Families and Workforce Development.
Commerce News/Upcoming Events
Commerce Allocates Grant Funding to Coal-Impacted Communities
A public hearing for the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan is set for July 9. The 2026-
2027 AAP, which summarizes the actions, activities and resources available for the
State of Montana’s Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Housing Trust Fund
and Emergency Solutions Grant Programs, is available for public comment until July
17. The 2026-2027 AAP covers the period from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
For more information and to provide oral comments, the public is invited to attend
a virtual public hearing on Thursday, July 9, at 10 a.m. MST. The hearing will be held
via Zoom; presentation materials will be available on Commerce’s website prior to the
hearing, which will give an overview of applicable requirements and takeaways from
the 2026-2027 AAP. The State of Montana will consider any comments or views
submitted in writing during the specified comment periods or orally during the public
hearing.
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry - Local Area Profiles web page is
a practical labor market data hub for Montana, giving users quick access to county and
state-level information on employment, unemployment, wages, population and other
economic indicators. It's a one-stop resource that helps staff, employers and
community partners better understand local conditions and make more informed
workforce decisions. The page is especially useful because it organizes data into
downloadable and shareable profile-style reports that can support planning, outreach
and economic development conversations across Montana’s communities. This site
was jointly developed with the Montana DOLI and Commerce’s Research and
Information Services. It is part of the database sharing between the two agencies.
Early bird registration is open until July 10 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 Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: MontanaDepartment of Commerce · P.O. Box 200501 · Helena, MT 59620-0501
Social media icons
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