February 4, 2021

Dear Members,

While the Montana High Tech Business Alliance does not currently take part in formal lobbying, we do engage with the legislative process on behalf of our members, including:

• Listening to feedback from tech leaders on legislation that may impact their businesses

• Conducting due diligence on relevant issues

• Providing information on bills where members may wish to testify

• Communicating with elected leaders where appropriate

As your voice for the tech ecosystem and in accordance with our mission and values, the board wishes to share the following information for your consideration.

The Montana High Tech Business Alliance (MHTBA) has heard concerns from member tech leaders who foresee potential harm to Montana’s fast-growing tech sector if the legislature were to pass controversial bills regarding LGBTQ+ populations such as HB 112 targeting transgender youth athletes.

The MHTBA leadership would like to make our members and the legislature aware of the potential economic impact of some of the recently proposed bills. Many states have experienced significant economic impact because of this type of social legislation.

We see three primary ways in which anti-LGBTQ+ bills could be harmful to our industry.

First, they do not reflect longstanding values for diversity, inclusion, and non-discrimination upheld by many of Montana’s leading technology businesses.

Our state’s most successful tech firms were built by individuals from varied perspectives, including political views, gender, sexuality, race, religion, geography, and country of origin. These diverse leaders worked together to scale global companies, create hundreds of high-paying jobs, and establish Montana as an emerging tech hub.

Second, these laws may lead to lost business, lost jobs, slower growth, and damage to Montana’s reputation as a safe and welcoming place to work.

Montana’s fastest-growing tech firms serve customers nationally and globally. We operate in a global corporate environment where values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are a standard firmly upheld and fiercely defended.

Fortune reported in 2015 that many of the nation’s largest companies started providing nondiscrimination protections, healthcare benefits, and transition guidelines to transgender employees well before the federal government stepped in. These corporate practices are benchmarked by the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index and as of 2021, HRC reported 94 percent of the Fortune 500 have gender identity protections enumerated in their nondiscrimination policies.

In March of 2020, more than 40 major employers released an open letter through HRC calling for lawmakers to oppose dozens of bills that target LGBTQ+ people, and transgender children in particular, including Amazon, American Airlines, Apple, AT&T, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Nike, and Salesforce.

Many of these large corporations are the customers and business partners of Montana companies. As bills like HB 112 make their way through the Montana legislature, local tech executives are receiving clear messages that the nation is watching. Tech leaders have been working for years to attract high-paying jobs, new business, facilities, investments, corporate events, sponsorships, and educational partnerships into Montana. These could be jeopardized if the state does not uphold these emerging, but rapidly accepted corporate standards of non-discrimination.

Numerous precedents in other states show the potential economic loss we could face.

• When North Carolina passed its HB 2 bathroom bill in 2016, more than 180 major companies publicly urged its repeal including Oracle, Intel, Xerox, General Electric, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Dropbox, YouTube, Airbnb, Box, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Lowe’s, Dow Chemical, Northrop Grumman, Pfizer, Merck, Fox, and NASCAR. PayPal cancelled a planned facility. The NBA and NCAA moved events to other states. Headline entertainers like Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam cancelled concerts. Economic losses for the state were estimated at $3.76 billion.

• Indiana was forced to amend a controversial law to clarify that it does not allow LGBTQ+ discrimination after threats of boycotts. Even though the amendment was made after just a week, Indiana tourism officials estimated Indianapolis lost as much as $60 million in hotel profits, tax revenue, and other benefits due to the loss of attendees at major trade shows and conventions.

• Threats from major businesses persuaded Arizona and Georgia’s governors to veto laws that were perceived as anti-LGBTQ+. (See appendix for additional evidence.)

The MHTBA has heard from tech executives and investors - Republicans, Democrats, and Independents - who believe they will encounter new barriers to doing business if these controversial laws pass.

Finally, anti-LGBTQ+ laws could significantly hamper Montana’s ability to attract, recruit, and retain top talent, especially among Millennials.

Every year in our surveys, tech leaders report that their biggest barrier to growth is access to talent. Controversial social legislation makes it difficult for businesses to advertise that our state provides the safe, open, and inclusive environment necessary for a successful technology workplace. Corporate leaders regularly speak out against such laws because they can harm employees and customers and make hiring top talent difficult in impacted states. When communities are welcoming places for everyone to live, work, and raise families, employees thrive, and businesses succeed.

For decades, diverse perspectives and a bipartisan focus on economic development have been Montana’s strengths, fueling innovation. Our research has shown Montana tech companies view elected leaders on both sides of the aisle as advocates for entrepreneurship.

Members are eager to see the legislature pursue policies that will attract capital, talent, high-paying jobs, and new business to our state and usher in an era of increased prosperity for all Montana families.

Appendix: Additional Evidence of Economic Loss

• A research study by the Texas Association of Business found that controversial social legislation could cause estimated losses in Texas’ GDP ranging from $964 million to $8.5 billion and cost as many as 185,000 jobs.

• Travel boycotts in the wake of transgender laws could drastically impact Montana’s tourism and hospitality industries as well as tech. When Idaho passed anti-transgender bills HB 500 and HB 509 in 2020, they were swiftly added to a list of 12 states to which state-funded travel is prohibited in the state of California due to discriminatory laws. Other states and cities including New York, Washington, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco have instituted similar travel restrictions.

• The stigma carried by banned states can also scare away tourists, businesses, and corporate event planners. Two Chicago-based companies pulled conventions worth $2 million out of Louisville in solidarity with California’s ban on Kentucky.

• The NCAA and other sports governing bodies like the International Olympic Committee have established clear, long-standing policies around transgender participation in athletics. Bills targeting transgender athletes like Idaho’s HB 500 and Montana’s HB 112 risk event bans by the NCAA. Idaho tourism officials estimated that likely cancellations due to such bans would cost the Boise hospitality community approximately $98 million.

• Montana collegiate athletic officials have warned the University of Montana and Montana State University could be banned from hosting football playoff games, soccer tournaments, track and field events, and more, hurting not just the universities and athletes but also hotels, restaurants, bars and retailers that are already struggling with the effects of COVID-19.

About Montana High Tech Business Alliance

The Montana High Tech Business Alliance is a non-partisan organization focused on accelerating responsible tech sector growth in Montana. We currently represent more than 200 member firms, ranging from Fortune 500 tech companies to small startups in rural Montana. Annual surveys conducted by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research show our tech industry is growing 9x the overall Montana economy, paying 2x the median wage, and generating more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue.