It took two tries, but House Taxation Committee on Wednesday endorsed a bill that adds new tax credits to encourage new businesses.

The panel initially deadlocked 10-10 along party lines on Senate Bill 503, by Sen. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings. Republicans supported the bill and Democrats opposed it.

Later in the morning, Rep. Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, said he had changed his mind and asked for another vote. Then he and Rep. Art Noonan, D-Butte, both reversed their earlier votes. The committee was sent to the House floor on a 12-8 vote.

Essmann's bill, called the Montana Economic Stimulus Act, would provide capital-gains tax credits on individual or corporate taxes for a percentage of gains on the sale of stock in a Montana business held for at least five years. It starts another tax credit and deduction from the gains of the sales of assets bought in 2009 to 2011, according to the governor's budget office.

The governor's budget office said it couldn't estimate its long-term fiscal impact because the capital-gains reductions wouldn't occur until five to 10 years from now. Capital-gains tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in taxpayers' tax liability.

Rep. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, opposed the bill as unneeded, saying Montana already has passed tax credits for capital gains income as an incentive.

Disagreeing was Rep. Janna Taylor, R-Dayton, who said: "I think anything we can do to keep our businesses in Montana and help out our family businesses in Montana is a good idea."

Jopek said afterward he changed his mind after reading SB503.

"In my mind, it's all about creating jobs and retaining businesses in Montana," he said. "During these hard economic times, I think it's a worthy debate on the House floor."

Status of other major actions in House Taxation Committee:

PASSED:

• SB489, by Essmann, to revise tax laws affecting pipelines.

TABLED:

• SB499, by Essmann, which would have reduced the coal severance tax rate for new production for "green facilities."

• SB510, by Sen. Kelly Gebhardt, R-Roundup, which would have halved the coal gross proceeds tax rate for new underground mines,

• SB241, by Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman, which would have required the Legislative Fiscal Division and maintain a searchable budget database Web site for the public to search and download revenue, budget, appropriation and expenditure information.

DEADLOCKED:

• SB490, by Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings, to exempt the first $20,000 in value of business equipment for each taxpayer and to provide a market value exemption of 33 percent for the property of each taxpayer with equipment valued at between $20,000 and $5 million. It would cost the state treasury about $25 million a year starting in fiscal 2010.

• SB377, by Sen. Gary Perry, R-Manhattan, to prohibit tax deductions for expenses related to unauthorized immigrants.