Capitol Tracker

Exploring the data on Montana's 2021 legislative session

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GOP-held 67-33
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GOP-held 31-19
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Greg Gianforte (R)
Last updated 5:26 PM Jun 22, 2021

The 2021 Montana Legislature was in session from Jan. 4 to April 29.

1,313
Measures introduced
1,106
Bills introduced
573
Became law
194
Resolutions introduced
131
Passed
13
Ballot measure proposals introduced
3
Passed
How bills move through the Legislature

Key bills

Major legislation identified by MTFP reporters. Where ambiguous, official bill titles are annotated with plain language summaries.

Major budget bills

HB 2: General Appropriations Act
Primary state budget bill
From Llew Jones (R)Bill text9 MTFP stories
Passed
HB 630: Appropriate CARES II funds, supplemental, and temporarily revise ed funding
Allocates funding provided by Dec. 2020 COVID-19 stimulus bill
Passed
HB 632: Implement receipt of and appropriate federal stimulus and COVID recovery funds
Allocates funding provided by March 2021 American Rescue Plan Act
Passed

GOP tax bills

SB 159: Personal Income Tax Relief Act
Reduces rate in the state’s top income tax bracket
Passed
SB 184: Montana Entrepreneur Magnet Act
Exempts shareholders of Montana-grown businesses from paying capital gains taxes on stock options
Passed
HB 252: Non-refundable tax credit for employer-paid education of trade professions
Tax credits to encourage employer-funded trade education
Passed
HB 303: Revise business equipment tax laws: Business Investment Grows (BIG) Jobs Act
Exempts more businesses from paying equipment tax
Passed
HB 340: Revise the MEDIA Act film tax credits
Expand tax credits encouraging Montana film productions
Passed
HB 372: Eliminate business equipment tax
Failed
SB 376: Corporate tax modernization through double-sales factor apportionment
Adjusts how income tax is calculated for multi-state corporations
Passed
SB 399: Generally revise and simplify income taxes
Major rewrite of Montana income tax code
Passed
HB 663: Generally revising school funding to increase GTB and lower property taxes
Passed

Democratic tax alternatives

SB 10: Providing for circuit breaker income tax credit for property taxes paid
Creates a property tax “circuit breaker” credit to lighten tax burden on lower-income residents
Failed
HB 424: Revise individual income tax laws
Creates new top income tax bracket, expands Earned Income Tax Credit for working families
Failed
HB 631: Increase state earned income tax credit
Expands Earned Income Tax Credit for working families
Failed

COVID-19 liability

SB 65: Revise civil liability laws
Protects businesses from some COVID-19-related lawsuits
Passed
HB 435: Generally revise civil liability laws for government
Protects public entities from some COVID-19-related lawsuits
Passed

Emergency power

SB 108: Authorize elected official approval of city/county health board rules
Allows citizens to petition for repeal of local health board actions
Failed
HB 121: Require elected official approval of local health board and officer actions
Passed
HB 159: Revise governor's power to spend certain unanticipated federal funds
Requires legislative involvement in spending large federal relief allocations
Passed
HB 230: Generally revise emergency and disaster laws
Lets Legislature weigh in on governor’s emergency declarations
Passed
HB 429: Revise governor's power to suspend election laws during emergency
Passed

Labor policy

SB 89: Revise laws related to collection of union dues
Bars public employers from collecting dues for unions via paycheck withholding
Failed
HB 168: Generally revise laws related to union fees
Requires annual worker consent for union membership
Failed
HB 251: Implement right-to-work
Requires written consent for union due paycheck deductions
Failed

Justice policy

SB 140: Revise laws relating to the judiciary
Lets the governor appoint judges to vacancies directly
Passed
SB 215: Establish the religious freedom restoration act
Passed
SB 278: Generally revise civil liability law
In part, requires nonprofits challenging government actions to disclose their donor lists
Failed
HB 325: Elect supreme court justices by districts
Voter referendum to shift away from statewide supreme court elections
Passed
HB 355: Require partisan elections for state, district, local judges
Failed
HB 685: Revise judicial standards laws
Constitutional referendum to give Judicial Standards Commission direct power to discipline judges and make a majority of members non-attorneys appointed by governor
Failed

Education policy

HB 15: Implement K-12 Inflation
Major school funding measure
Passed
HB 46: Revise special education funding
Adds special ed inflationary increases to routine state education budget
Passed
HB 143: Provide incentives for increasing starting teacher pay
Passed
HB 179: Generally revise laws related to community colleges
Makes it easier to set up community college districts
Passed
HB 246: Revise education laws to enhance local control and opportunities for pupils
Makes K-12 education requirements more flexible
Passed
HB 279: Revise laws related to tax credit scholarship and innovative education programs
Raises tax credit cap on private school scholarship donations to $200,000
Passed

Natural resource policy

SB 98: Revising laws related to grizzly bear take in defense of persons and livestock
Passed
HB 224: Allow for the snaring of wolves in Montana by licensed trappers
Passed
SB 267: Authorize reimbursement for wolf trapping and hunting
Passed
HB 302: Require county approval to relocate bison
Passed
SB 314: Revise laws related to wolf harvest
Passed
HB 320: Prohibit sales of federal land transferred to Montana
Failed
SB 337: Revising laws related to grizzly bear relocation
Prevents FWP from relocating grizzly bears into new areas
Passed
SB 358: Repeal numeric nutrient standards for water quality
Loosens nutrient water quality regulations by replacing numeric standards with narrative ones
Passed
HB 468: Allowing hound hunting and chase seasons for black bears
Passed

Energy policy

SJ 3: Provide for a feasibility study of advanced nuclear reactors
Passed
SB 160: Establish Public Service Commission appointments
Shifts elected utility board to three-member commission appointed by governor
Failed
HB 170: Revise laws to include renewable hydrogen
Passed
SB 176: Generally revise laws related to coal, coal tax, and coal-fired unit remediation
Discourages utilities from exiting coal plant operations
Failed
HB 273: Eliminate restrictions on nuclear facility development
Passed
SB 379: Generally revise coal-fired generation laws
Guarantees NorthWestern Energy funding for coal plants by limiting PSC authority over power bills
Failed

Firearm regulations

HB 102: Generally revise gun laws
Expands permitless concealed carry, limits gun regulations on college campuses
Passed
HB 258: Revise laws related to firearms, ammunition, and accessories
Bars Montana officials from enforcing new federal firearm restrictions
Passed

Recreational marijuana implementation

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More information about this guide is available here. Reach data reporter Eric Dietrich with questions, comments or bug reports for this project at edietrich@montanafreepress.org.

Think there's a potential news story to be done about a bill or lawmaker you see here? Tell us at tips@montanafreepress.org.

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