2023 Capitol Tracker

The lawmakers, bills and votes of the 68th Montana Legislature

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Last update: 11:29 PM Mar 23, 2023
📑 Key bills🗂 All bills🔎 Find a bill🔎 Find a lawmaker🏡 Your district🗓 Calendar📝 What's happened🙋 How to participate
🏛 House
GOP-held 68-32
🏛 Senate
GOP-held 34-16
🖋 Governor
Greg Gianforte (R)
Sen. Jason Small, SD 21

Sen. Jason Small

Fourth-session Republican from Busby
House Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Chair
Representing Senate District 21
Busby, Hardin, Crow Agency, Lame Deer, Ashland
(406) 690-0923 • Jason.Small@legmt.gov
Committees •Bills •Key votes •Voting stats •2022 election margin •MTFP Coverage

Small previously served in the Montana Senate in 2017, 2019 and 2021.

Committee assignments

Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs - Chair 🪑
Senate Natural Resources
Senate Energy and Telecommunications - Vice Chair

Bills sponsored

📋 SR 29: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of realty regulation
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 30: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of real estate appraisers
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 34: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of private security
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 35: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of horseracing
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 36: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of funeral services
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 37: Confirm governor's appointees for the state electrical board
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 38: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of barbers and cosmetologists
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 39: Confirm governor's appointees for the board of public accountants
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 40: Confirm governor's appointee for the board of plumbers
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
📋 SR 41: Confirm governor's appointees for board of architects and landscape architects
Jason Small (R)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
Showing 10 of 37.
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Key bill votes

Most recent floor votes on bills identified as notable by MTFP staff.
Motion / BillSmall (R)OutcomeRepublicansDemocrats
Do Concur /
HB 13: State Employee Pay Plan and revising laws governing state employees		YES
Y
48-1
Y
32-1
Y
16-0
Do Concur /
HB 60: An act providing for an annual fee on electric vehicles registered in the state		YES
Y
39-11
Y
30-4
Y
9-7
Do Concur /
HB 172: Revise laws related to post-election audits		YES
Y
49-1
Y
33-1
Y
16-0
Do Concur /
HB 192: Use surplus revenue for income tax and property tax refunds and payment of bonds		YES
Y
32-18
Y
32-2
N
0-16
Do Concur /
HB 212: Increase business equipment tax exemption		YES
Y
33-17
Y
33-1
N
0-16
Do Concur /
HB 222: Provide rebates of property taxes paid on a principal residence		YES
Y
34-16
Y
34-0
N
0-16
Rerefer to JUS-Fitzpatrick /
HB 234: Revise dissemination of obscene material to minors laws		NO
N
18-32
Y
18-16
N
0-16
Do Concur /
HB 251: Provide budget stability through investment and liability reduction		YES
Y
34-16
Y
34-0
N
0-16
Do Concur /
HB 267: Create SAFER account for federal highway grants		YES
Y
33-17
Y
33-1
N
0-16
Do Concur /
HB 326: Revise laws relating to the appointment of the judicial standards commission		NO
Y
29-21
Y
29-5
N
0-16
Do Pass /
SB 70: Revise the Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program		YES
Y
46-4
Y
30-4
Y
16-0
Do Pass /
SB 85: Require management of delisted grizzly bears at sustainable levels		YES
Y
37-12
Y
34-0
N
3-12
Do Pass /
SB 99: Provide for a youth health protection act		YES
Y
30-20
Y
30-4
N
0-16
Do Pass /
SB 109: Revise laws related to redistricting the PSC		YES
Y
30-20
Y
30-4
N
0-16
Do Pass /
SB 115: Revise definition of psychological abuse or neglect in CPS cases		YES
Y
47-2
Y
34-0
Y
13-2
Do Pass /
SB 121: Reduce top marginal income tax rate and increase EITC		YES
Y
35-15
Y
34-0
N
1-15
Do Pass /
SB 154: Define the right to privacy to clarify no right to abortion		YES
Y
28-21
Y
28-6
N
0-15
Do Pass /
SB 191: Revise preliminary injunction laws		YES
Y
33-17
Y
33-1
N
0-16
Do Pass /
SB 201: Revise judicial recusal laws when parties made campaign contributions		YES
Y
33-14
Y
32-0
N
1-14
Do Pass /
SB 295: Revising laws to accommodate grizzly bear delisting		YES
Y
35-15
Y
34-0
N
1-15
Do Pass /
SB 382: Create the Montana Land Use Planning Act		YES
Y
44-6
Y
28-6
Y
16-0
Do Pass /
SB 458: Define sex in Montana law		YES
Y
28-22
Y
28-6
N
0-16
Do Pass /
SB 481: Require cast vote records		YES
Y
49-1
Y
33-1
Y
16-0
Do Pass /
SB 490: Generally revising the legislature's investigative powers		YES
Y
34-16
Y
34-0
N
0-16
Do Pass /
SB 498: Revise laws related to absentee ballots		YES
Y
50-0
Y
34-0
Y
16-0

Floor vote statistics

Calculations based on 1,250 Senate floor votes in 2023 involving bills.
🥇 96%
of votes cast on winning side
Average for Senate Republicans is 91%.
🔴 94%
of votes cast on side taken by most Republicans
Average for Senate Republicans is 92%.
🔵 74%
of votes cast on side taken by most Democrats
Average for Senate Republicans is 67%.
Small has been marked absent or excused for 0 votes. Average for Senate lawmakers is 8.6.

SD 21 election results

Last in-cycle for Senate election in 2020. House seats are elected every two years, Senate seats every four.

General election vote, 2020

(R) JASON D SMALL(R) 58%(D) 42%
Won by 16% (1,086 votes)

Party primary vote, 2020

(R) JASON D SMALL(R) 100%
Ran unopposed

Governor vote in district, 2020

(D) COONEY(D) 48%(R) 48%
Won by 0% (18 votes)

Montana Free Press coverage

MTFP legislative reporting involving Small.
📰 2023 Legislature
Legislature’s Indigenous caucus works to keep Native issues at forefront
Mar 15, 2023 • JoVonne Wagner
📰 Environment
How environmental policy proposals are faring at the Legislature’s halfway mark
Mar 9, 2023 • Amanda Eggert
📰 Environment
Legislature weighs bill to exempt some small subdivisions from MEPA review
Feb 9, 2023 • Amanda Eggert

About the 2023 Montana Free Press Capitol Tracker

This guide is an effort to make the quantifiable aspects of the Montana Legislature more accessible to the public by compiling information about lawmakers, proposed bills and the legislative process. This is a project of Montana Free Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom that aims to provide Montanans with in-depth, nonpartisan news coverage.

The information presented here is collected from a variety of sources including the Montana Legislature’s public roster and its official bill-tracking system, the Legislative Automated Workflow System, or LAWS. Reporting and web design was done primarily by MTFP Deputy Editor Eric Dietrich. Please contact him at edietrich@montanafreepress.org with bug reports, questions or suggestions.

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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