Andrea Olsen

Voted for Senate Bill 319, which creates a state license for doulas. A doula is a trained helper, not a medical provider, who supports a pregnant woman before, during, and after birth. Starting January 1, 2027, no one may work as a doula without a license from the state labor department. To get one, a person must meet the department's training standards and have a clean record. Peer mentors, advocates, coaches, and tribal healers may keep doing similar work without a license, so long as they do not call themselves doulas. The law also lets the health department cover licensed doula services under Medicaid. The act takes effect January 1, 2026 and ends December 31, 2030. The Montana Senate backed the final compromise version 28-22, and it became law.

April 30, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted for House Bill 56, which puts a new state fee on private ground ambulance companies. The fee is 5.75% of what they collect for emergency runs. The money goes to a state account that pays the state's own costs first, then raises Medicaid rates for ambulance trips, up to what commercial insurance pays. Air-only, tribal and city-owned ambulance services do not pay it. The law starts only if the federal government approves it, and it ends on June 30, 2033. The Montana Senate passed it 29-20, and it became law.

April 15, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted for House Bill 601, which creates an online tool to help people sign up for Medicaid. Medicaid is the public health coverage program for people on low incomes. A community assister is a person or group that helps others apply. By May 2026 the state must run a portal where an assister can check the status of an application, see notices sent to the person, report a change, see what the person still has to do, and update contact details. A person applying must be able to name one or more assisters to help them. The Montana Senate passed it 28-22, and it became law.

April 12, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 399, which limits when a health insurer may make a patient get approval before filling a prescription. That step is called prior authorization. The limits cover drugs on the insurer's own list of covered drugs. The insurer may no longer ask for it for most generic pills and inhalers, though controlled drugs and specialty-tier drugs are left out. It may not ask for it for standard, non-specialty inhalers used to treat asthma and other long-term lung disease. It may not ask for it for insulin used by a patient with diabetes. A refusal must be made by a doctor who treats that kind of illness. If the insurer says no to a drug, it must give the patient a list of other drugs it will pay for. The Montana Senate passed it 38-12, and it became law.

April 3, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 245, which keeps Montana's HELP Act going and changes its job side. The HELP Act provides health coverage to lower-income adults. It was written to end on a set date, and the act repeals those end dates, so the program has no expiry. The act also changes the job help that comes with it. The state no longer has to hire outside groups to run training aimed at in-demand jobs such as health care and entry-level cybersecurity. Instead the state contacts each person subject to the work rules and helps them finish a work assessment. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

February 27, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 170, which removes the end date from Montana's community health aide program. These aides are trained local workers who provide basic health services. They are used mainly in tribal and rural areas. The program had been set to expire, and it is now permanent. The health department is told to seek the federal approval Medicaid needs to pay for their work. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

February 11, 2025Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 535, which creates a licensed industry of experimental treatment centres in Montana. A centre must hold a state licence, costing $10,000 to apply and $5,000 a year. The act also widens what counts as an experimental treatment. A treatment must still have passed the first phase of a clinical trial. It used to also have to remain in a federally approved trial; it may now instead have a safety record shown by documented clinical evidence. Consent may be a recording rather than a signed form, and two warnings are deleted, including the one about unexpected or worse symptoms. Direct agreements between a centre and a patient are placed outside insurance law. The Montana Senate passed it 29-21, and it became law.

April 29, 2025Opposes Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 932, which sends marijuana tax money to wildlife habitat. The 20 percent that went to the state wildlife department now goes to a new habitat account. That money is split three ways: 75 percent to caring for land and wildlife, 20 percent to habitat work and 5 percent to wildlife crossings. The share for the state addiction recovery fund changes from a fixed cap of $6 million to 11 percent. The advisory council is rebuilt to seat a wildlife scientist, a tribal member, a farmer or rancher, a conservation group member and a weed control member. The Montana Senate passed it 38-11, and it became law.

April 25, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 853, which raises the licence fees for places that serve food or lodging and widens who must hold one. A small food business goes from $85 to $150 a year, a large one from $115 to $275, and a wholesale food business from $115 to $225. A small hotel or motel goes from $40 to $100, and a small campground from $40 to $80. Pools and spas are split into seasonal and year-round rates. The act also removes hotels and motels from the list of places excluded from the retail food rules, so they now need a food licence and inspection. The Montana Senate passed it 29-21, and it became law.

April 24, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 421, which raises the fee landowners pay for wildfire protection. The state natural resources department charges owners of forest land for fire protection. The flat charge per landowner rises from a cap of $50 to a cap of $58.70. The extra charge for land above 20 acres rises from 30 cents to 49 cents an acre each year, a rise of about two-thirds. The first 20 acres remain free of the per-acre charge. The Montana Senate passed it 37-13, and it became law.

April 24, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 372, which raises Montana hunting licence prices and puts more of the money into bird habitat. A resident upland game bird licence rises from $7.50 to $10, and the non-resident one from $110 to $127. The non-resident big game combination rises from $981 to $1,312. The slice of each licence set aside for the upland game bird habitat programme also rises, for example from $2 to $4.50 on a resident bird licence. Discounted licences, such as those for young, older and disabled hunters, no longer feed that habitat programme. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 23, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 855, which pays for wildlife crossings over and under Montana highways. These are bridges and tunnels that let animals cross without meeting traffic. The act sets up an account for the money and lets the state wildlife department create a special number plate to raise it. A driver choosing that plate donates $20 when it is first issued and $20 at each yearly renewal. The money is passed to the transport department for qualifying crossing projects, and the act authorises that spending directly. The Montana Senate passed it 38-12, and it became law.

April 17, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 390, which brings vaping under Montana's indoor smoking ban. The Clean Indoor Air Act bars smoking in enclosed public places such as restaurants, shops, offices and health care buildings. The act adds a meaning for an electronic smoking device, covering an e-cigarette, a dab rig or a vape pen. It then rewrites the meaning of smoking to include inhaling and exhaling from such a device. So vaping is now treated the same as lighting a cigarette everywhere that law reaches. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

April 15, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 621, which lets local emergency services offer private peer support. A police force, fire service or ambulance service may set up a scheme where staff talk through the strain of the job with a trained workmate. The written policy must cover nine points. They include a ban on recording a session, the right not to be handed to your own boss, and a ban on treating anyone badly for asking for help. What is said stays private, and the workmate may not testify about it in court. That falls away in four cases: the person has done or plans a crime, says they will hurt themselves or someone else, a licensing board asks, or a licensing board's mandatory reporting rules apply. The Montana Senate passed it 37-12, and it became law.

April 7, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 74, which tightens the rules for private fish ponds. A pond owner used to be able to apply for a license. Now an owner must have one. The application fee rises from $10 to $600, and the renewal fee rises from $10 to $250. A license lasts 10 years, but an owner who sells fish must renew it every year. An owner who sells fish, eggs or fry must post a bond of $2,500 instead of $500. A bond is money set aside to cover harm if something goes wrong. Owners must also keep records, and the state may inspect a pond and test the fish for disease. The Montana Senate passed it 30-19, and it became law.

March 18, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

On 2025-02-11, Montana Senate Bill 294 was introduced by Senator Andrea Olsen to require public utilities to report a plan for 100% renewables; the official history records it tabled in committee on 2025-02-27 after committee votes.

February 11, 2025Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: archive.legmt.gov · researched August 20, 2026

Voted for House Bill 543, which makes a hospital reporting duty permanent. Montana requires health care employers to record and report violence against their staff. That duty was written to expire, and the act repeals the expiry date. So hospitals and other health care employers must keep tracking and disclosing assaults on employees with no end date. Nothing else about what must be reported changes. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 17, 2025Supports Labor Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 667, which protects an employee who runs for or holds public office. An employer may not stop a worker seeking election or appointment to a city, county or state office, and may not punish them for it. During the leave the law already gives an office holder, the employer may not make the worker use up their own leave without agreeing, and may not make them work. If the employer allows personal use of a work phone or computer, it may not withdraw that during the leave. If it provides health cover, it must keep providing the same cover. The act reaches back to anything that happened from January 2025. The Montana Senate passed it 32-17, and it became law.

April 7, 2025Supports Labor Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 128, which stops an employer sacking someone for volunteering as an emergency responder. That covers joining a volunteer fire service or a volunteer emergency unit. The protection starts once the worker has finished any probation period. The worker must tell the employer in writing that they volunteer, within 30 days of joining, of being hired, or of the act starting. A worker sacked for this reason may sue the employer for wrongful dismissal. The Montana Senate passed it 35-15, and it became law.

April 1, 2025Supports Labor Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 542, Montana's 2025 property tax law. It sent a one-time rebate of up to $400 to people who owned and lived in a Montana home during 2024. It cut the rate on farm and ranch land from 2.16% to 2.05%. It replaced the single 1.35% home rate with a sliding scale, so a lower-value home is taxed at a lower rate than a costly one. From 2026 the lowest home rate goes to owners who got the 2024 rebate, and to others who apply for it; long-term landlords must apply. Local governments whose charter or whose voters had fixed their tax rate must reset it for 2026 to raise the same dollars as in 2025, and may not go above that reset rate later. The Montana Senate adopted the final version 28-22, and it became law.

April 30, 2025Supports Cost of Living Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted for House Bill 231, one of two property tax bills that passed on the same day. Because Senate Bill 542 also passed, House Bill 231 said that most of its own text would fall away. What was left rewrote three parts of Senate Bill 542. It set the 2025 tax rate on a home at 0.76% of the first $400,000 of value, 1.1% up to $1.5 million, and 2.2% above that. It set business property at 1.4% on the first $400,000 and 1.89% above. It also gave the revenue department $4 million to carry the new law out. The Montana Senate adopted the final version 28-22, and it became law.

April 30, 2025Supports Cost of Living Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 326, which extends and widens Montana's film tax credits. The credits pay part of the cost of making a film or television programme in the state. They were due to run out, and the act extends them through 2045. It widens which productions and which post-production work can claim. It also pays a bigger credit for hiring veterans and enrolled tribal members. The credit is allocated to certain bodies, and any part they do not use may be claimed by others for a fee. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 29, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 908, which widens a state tax credit for employers and makes it permanent. The job growth credit pays an employer half of what it owes in federal payroll taxes on the wages of a new worker. A registered apprentice in the building trades now counts as such a worker. That apprentice need not meet the $50,000 wage floor, the 6-month test, or the rule about growing staff numbers. An employer may now claim this credit and the apprentice credit in the same year, which was barred before. The act also deletes the December 2028 end date, so the credit no longer expires. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 74, which cuts the tax on discounted marijuana and changes how sellers are licensed. Montana taxes marijuana on its retail price. The act changes that price from the one set before any discount to the one after the discount, so tax is charged on what the customer actually pays. It also charges a maker's licence fee on a company's total output rather than on each of its facilities. Complaints to the state marijuana hotline may now be made anonymously, but those complaints become confidential and are not released to the public. The Montana Senate passed it 38-12, and it became law.

March 27, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 588, which brings motorised scooters into Montana's traffic laws for the first time. A motorised scooter is defined as a vehicle with no seat, pushed by foot or by a motor that cannot drive it faster than 30 miles an hour. Electrically assisted bicycles are excluded. Scooters must follow the rules that already apply to bicycles and mopeds, including lamps and brakes. A powered scooter may not be ridden on a pavement. A rider or passenger under 18 must wear protective headgear. The Montana Senate passed it 37-13, and it became law.

April 3, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 586, which changes when a child must ride in a car seat or booster seat. The rule now turns on the child's age rather than the older test alone. The act sets out what counts as a child safety restraint system and what counts as a booster seat. It also lists the vehicles and situations that do not have to comply. A driver carrying a child who is not properly restrained is breaking the law. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 3, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 471, which creates an offence of endangering people at a pedestrian crossing. Some crossings have a light a walker presses that starts flashing to show they are there. Under the act a driver approaching such a light with a walker present must give way, stopping if needed, and stay stopped until the person has crossed. A driver who reaches the crossing before the light is pressed, or who cannot stop safely once it is, may carry on at a safe speed. A first offence carries a fine of $25 to $100. Where the flashing light was on, the fine rises to $75 to $149 for a first offence. A driver who damages the crossing light must pay to repair it. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

March 21, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 810, which bars a landlord from charging a tenant an extra fee just because of how the rent is paid. The one exception is passing on a bank fee the landlord actually pays for an electronic payment. The rule covers both regular rentals and mobile home lot rentals. The act also adds a definition listing the payment types this covers: cash, check, electronic, and other forms written into the lease. The Montana Senate passed it 38-12, and it became law.

April 12, 2025Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted for House Bill 311, which makes a property manager give back a rental application fee. It covers managers of four or more units. The fee must be refunded within a reasonable time if the applicant does not end up with a rental agreement. The manager may keep only real out-of-pocket costs, such as a credit check, and only if the applicant got written notice of each cost when the fee was paid. The manager may not keep money for a service it never carried out, and may not charge for its own time. An applicant who is not paid back may sue for the amount held. The Montana Senate passed it 34-14, and it became law.

April 8, 2025Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted for House Bill 162, which lets Montana resort towns spend a local tax on housing for workers. A resort community may charge a resort tax, and it may add an extra levy of up to 1 percent that must go to infrastructure. The act adds workforce and community housing projects to what counts as infrastructure. So the extra levy may now pay for homes as well as water pipes, roads and emergency services. The act also bars a resort community over the population limit from charging the extra levy unless it was set up before January 2025. The Montana Senate passed it 35-14, and it became law.

April 4, 2025Supports Housing Affordability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 358, which raises the pension paid to Montana's volunteer firefighters. A volunteer who has served long enough draws a set monthly amount from the Volunteer Firefighters' Compensation Act. The act lifts the full monthly pension from $175 to $200, a rise of about 14 percent. Nothing else changes. The extra $7.50 a month for each year served past 20 stays, and only the further payments for years past 30 still depend on the fund being financially sound. The Montana Senate passed it 37-13, and it became law.

April 12, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 95, which pays for suicide prevention aimed at veterans and serving military members. It sets aside $300,000 for the two years starting July 2025, for grants run by the state health department. The money must go to work with the federal veterans department, to setting standards for spotting who is at risk, and to training people who take that first call. It must also train more peer supporters, improve handover between military and civilian care, and fund a statewide campaign on storing firearms and medicines safely. The programme ends in June 2027. The Montana Senate passed it 39-11, and it became law.

March 21, 2025Supports Social Programs and Welfare

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 669, which sorts out schooling for children in hospital for serious emotional problems. These children stay in a treatment facility inside Montana while they receive care. The act clarifies how the tuition owed for teaching them is worked out. It also clarifies what rules the schools superintendent may write for these programmes. The superintendent contracts with the facility to provide the education, and the act sets out how that funding works. The Montana Senate passed it 33-17, and it became law.

April 23, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 499, which widens Montana's grow your own grant programme, which helps people train as teachers in their own communities. Programme grants now go to colleges and universities that partner with at least one eligible school district, instead of to the school districts themselves. The rule about earning college credits while still at high school is relaxed. The higher education commissioner no longer has to turn a grant into a loan when a recipient does not meet the conditions. The programme was due to end, and the act pushes that date back. The Montana Senate passed it 29-21, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 515, which puts more state money into school buildings and technology. The multiplier in the school major maintenance aid formula rises from 187 percent to 355 percent. The set amount for a district rises from $15,000 to $40,000, plus $115 for each student instead of $110. Two state accounts for school buildings and school technology are merged into one. The order of spending is set: technology first, then major upkeep, then help with school debt. The act also sets aside $1 million a year for school technology grants. It moves general fund money to bring the school buildings fund to $275 million. The Montana Senate passed it 29-21, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted for House Bill 168, which lets state school money follow preschool children with disabilities. Montana schools must already teach children with disabilities from age 3. But the state's student count, which sets school funding, left out children under 5, so districts got no state money for them. The act adds 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds with disabilities to that count, scaled by how many hours of teaching they get. It also lets a school board formally admit such a child as a pupil. Preschool programs a district runs by choice stay outside the count. The Montana Senate passed it 29-21, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 278, which creates a school job for guiding pupils toward college and work. The job is called an advanced opportunity facilitator. That person links a pupil and their family with colleges, employers, trade bodies and local groups. A school gets state money to help pupils take up these chances. It may now use what is left of that money, after paying pupils' own costs, to pay the new post. The school also draws the state teacher payment for the person, as it would for a teacher. The Montana Senate passed it 36-14, and it became law.

April 17, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 573, which replaces one school grant scheme with another. Transformational learning grants pay schools to try new ways of teaching. The act ends the existing grant programme a year earlier than planned. In its place it sets up a phase two programme, and sets out how the schools superintendent and the Board of Public Education must run it. Schools applying must meet the requirements the act lays down. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 15, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 509, which widens the state's help with teacher student loans. The help had gone only to teachers hired at schools the state lists as short of staff. It now goes to every newly hired teacher in a public school, though the listed schools still come first for the money. The state pays up to $3,000 after a first full year, $4,000 after a second, and $5,000 after a third. If the money runs short, the state school chief must trim the payments and fund the listed schools first. The Montana Senate passed it 38-10, and it became law.

April 14, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted for House Bill 338, which widens Montana's early help for young children from reading alone to reading and math. The state may now approve more than one screening tool instead of a single one. Schools may give the check at any time of year, where before it had to be April, May or June. A child found eligible is no longer limited to help in the next school year alone. The home-based option keeps its cap of $1,000 a year for each child. The Montana Senate passed it 32-16, and it became law.

April 11, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted for House Bill 15, which raises the set dollar figures in Montana's school funding formula. The state uses these per-school and per-student figures to work out what each district is owed. The act lifts 21 of them. They cover the basic entitlement, the per-student payment, the quality educator payment, and the special education share, among others. Each rises about 3 percent for the 2026 school year and about 3 percent more for 2027. The 2027 figures then stay in place until lawmakers change them. The act sets aside no money of its own. The Montana Senate passed it 33-17, and it became law.

March 21, 2025Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 105, which widens Montana's ban on campaigning near voters. The ban used to apply on election day at polling places. It now applies at any place where a person may get or cast a ballot, for all the hours that place is open. That covers the whole stretch when absentee ballots are available. The 100-foot boundary is unchanged, and so is the rule barring candidates and their campaigns from handing out food, drink, or anything of value to voters inside it. The Montana Senate backed the House's version 36-13, and it became law.

April 4, 2025Supports Election Integrity

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted for House Bill 129, which cuts the state income tax bill of volunteer emergency responders. A qualified volunteer firefighter or volunteer emergency care provider may subtract an extra $3,000 from the income Montana taxes. To qualify, the person must have been an unpaid active member of the same unit for the whole calendar year. They must also have completed the required training, which is at least 30 hours for a firefighter. The $3,000 figure rises each year in line with inflation. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 24, 2025Supports Personal Income Tax Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 599, which changes who decides about school data on a child. A school may still collect information that does not name the child unless a parent opts out. But any collection that does name the child now needs the parent to say yes first. A child's own education record and a demographic survey used to check a college admission test are outside the rule. Schools must also tell parents they may opt out of physical and mental health checks and surveys, and must tell them about any concern such a check turns up. The Montana Senate passed it 29-21, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Supports Data Privacy

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted for House Bill 575, which lets a court give a parent a public defender in a case to end their parental rights against their wishes. A public defender is a lawyer paid for by the state. The parent must first be found unable to afford a lawyer of their own. The case covered is one brought to terminate parental rights under Montana's adoption law. Courts already had to appoint a lawyer in these cases under a 2014 Montana Supreme Court ruling; the act writes that duty into the public defender law. The Montana Senate passed it 25-24, and it became law.

April 28, 2025Supports Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 147, which stops Montana's Indian Child Welfare Act from expiring. That Act sets the rules for what happens when the state removes an American Indian child from home, including who the child should be placed with. The 2023 law that created it also set it to end on 30 June 2025. The act repeals that end date, so the protections stay in force with no expiry. The Secretary of State must send a copy to every federally recognised tribal government in Montana. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 17, 2025Supports Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 825, which lets a hospital patient name someone they trust to make health decisions for them. The patient may do this after being admitted, at any time before a provider decides they can no longer decide for themselves. The patient just tells a provider who it is, out loud or otherwise. If the patient later cannot decide, the act sets the order in which someone is chosen. A court-appointed guardian and a formal written appointment come first, then a spouse, adult child, parent and sibling. The trusted person the patient named ranks after those relatives, but ahead of a close friend. The Montana Senate passed it 27-21, and it became law.

April 11, 2025Supports Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 239, which moves construction contractors from a simple registration to a full state license. The stated purpose is to protect public health and safety. The labor department must set license standards, decide what counts as unprofessional conduct, and may fine or penalize a contractor who breaks the rules. The act deletes the $70 cap on a contractor's registration fee. Fees for the new license are set by the department instead, and must cover the full cost of running the program. The Montana Senate passed it 38-12, and it became law.

April 22, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 543, which makes a hospital reporting duty permanent. Montana requires health care employers to record and report violence against their staff. That duty was written to expire, and the act repeals the expiry date. So hospitals and other health care employers must keep tracking and disclosing assaults on employees with no end date. Nothing else about what must be reported changes. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 17, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 667, which protects an employee who runs for or holds public office. An employer may not stop a worker seeking election or appointment to a city, county or state office, and may not punish them for it. During the leave the law already gives an office holder, the employer may not make the worker use up their own leave without agreeing, and may not make them work. If the employer allows personal use of a work phone or computer, it may not withdraw that during the leave. If it provides health cover, it must keep providing the same cover. The act reaches back to anything that happened from January 2025. The Montana Senate passed it 32-17, and it became law.

April 7, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 128, which stops an employer sacking someone for volunteering as an emergency responder. That covers joining a volunteer fire service or a volunteer emergency unit. The protection starts once the worker has finished any probation period. The worker must tell the employer in writing that they volunteer, within 30 days of joining, of being hired, or of the act starting. A worker sacked for this reason may sue the employer for wrongful dismissal. The Montana Senate passed it 35-15, and it became law.

April 1, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for House Bill 78, which sets consumer rules for pet insurance. A seller must tell buyers in plain terms what the policy will not cover. That includes any pre-existing condition, and any waiting period before cover starts. The seller must also explain how it works out what it pays, and must show the benefit schedule in the policy. If the insurer requires a vet exam, it must say so before purchase, and must warn that the exam notes may lead to a pre-existing condition being excluded. A buyer who has not yet filed a claim may return the policy within 15 days. The insurer must then refund the full premium within 30 days of getting the policy back. The Montana Senate passed it 29-20, and it became law.

March 18, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 110, which sets safety rules for amusement rides that stay in one Montana location for more than 30 days. Rides set up for 30 days or less, such as a traveling carnival, are left outside the law. Every covered ride must be inspected at least once every 12 months by a qualified inspector, and the act defines who counts as one. A ride may not be run for the public unless that inspector has issued a certificate. The operator must carry liability insurance of at least $500,000 for the injury or death of one person, and at least $1 million for one incident. Riders are also given clearer duties of their own. The Montana Senate passed it 33-16, and it became law.

February 10, 2025Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted for Senate Bill 104, which lets a state body raise more cheap money for charities and public buildings. The Montana Facility Finance Authority issues bonds so nonprofits and public-benefit facilities can borrow at lower rates. The act triples how much new debt it may take on in any two-year period, from $500 million to $1.5 billion, not counting bonds issued to refinance old ones. From July 2027 that limit rises by a fixed 3% every two years. The act widens which bodies may use the programme to cover 501(c)(3) charities and other public-benefit facilities. The Montana Senate passed it 38-11, and it became law.

February 28, 2025Supports Public Infrastructure

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

On 2025-02-24, Montana Senate Bill 295, introduced by Senator Andrea Olsen to restore an injured worker's right to choose a treating doctor, passed committee; on 2025-02-26 the Senate indefinitely postponed it after the second-reading vote.

February 24, 2025

Source: archive.legmt.gov · researched August 20, 2026

On 2025-02-11, Montana Senate Bill 290 was introduced by Senator Andrea Olsen to revise insurance laws concerning uninsured and underinsured motorists; the official legislative history records the bill later dying after missing the general-bill transmittal deadline on 2025-03-12.

February 11, 2025

Source: static.legmt.gov · researched August 20, 2026

On 2025-02-11, Montana Senate Bill 294 was introduced by Senator Andrea Olsen to require public utilities to report a plan for 100% renewables; the official history records it tabled in committee on 2025-02-27 after committee votes.

February 11, 2025

Source: archive.legmt.gov · researched August 20, 2026

Voted against House Bill 682, which is about gender transition treatment. It gives people who had that treatment as children much longer to sue over harm from it. They may sue until age 25, or two years after they learn of the harm and its cause, with a final cutoff at age 30. Montana's usual deadline for suing a doctor is much shorter. The law also says a health plan that covers gender transition treatment must cover treatment to reverse it, on the same terms. A plan can drop that duty going forward by ending gender transition coverage for everyone, but it must keep equal detransition coverage for people who were enrolled and used that coverage. The law starts October 1, 2026. The Montana Senate adopted the final compromise version 32-18, and it became law.

April 30, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 818, which is about money in ballot measure campaigns. Foreign nationals may no longer give to or spend on a campaign about a statewide ballot measure. No one may take or pass on money they know came from a foreign national for that purpose. The term covers foreign governments and parties, most people who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and firms based abroad. It also covers a U.S. firm mostly owned by foreign nationals. Such a firm is exempt if it employs people who pay Montana income tax and it also pays Montana property tax, or if it keeps both the money and the choices American. A ballot measure committee must also get each donor to state in writing that they are not a foreign national. The Montana Senate backed the final compromise version 37-13, and it became law.

April 30, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 553, which stops airline travel credits expiring. A travel credit is money an airline gives you toward a future flight. Under the act it stays valid until it is used and never runs out. Its value belongs to whoever holds it, not the airline, and it survives the airline going bust. No fee may reduce it, including a charge for leaving it unused. If a credit was worth more than $5 and less than $5 is left, the holder may ask for the rest in cash. This reaches back to credits issued from January 2025. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 29, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 218, which lets someone sue a clinician over gender dysphoria treatment they had as a child. The treatments covered are listed surgeries, hormones and puberty blockers. The person must show the clinician fell below the accepted medical standard of care, proved by expert evidence. The claim may be brought within 2 years of discovering the harm, and the clock does not even start until the person turns 23. It is paused further where the clinician concealed things or applied pressure. Treatment for a child born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development is excluded. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 29, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 446, which creates a new offence of indecent exposure based on birth sex. A person commits it by knowingly exposing their genitals or intimate parts, in a public place, to people of the opposite sex at birth, where they know it is likely to cause alarm. Public place is defined to include restrooms, changing rooms and showers set aside for one sex, as well as schools, parks and shops. A child with a parent, and a person with developmental disabilities with a carer, are excepted. A first conviction carries up to $500 or 6 months in jail, and a conviction requires the person to register as a sexual offender. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 29, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 59, which tightens the rules for licensed water well contractors. The bond a contractor must post rises from $4,000 to $25,000, and the blanket bond for a firm rises from $10,000 to $25,000. A bond is money set aside to pay a customer if the work goes wrong. Abandoning or decommissioning a well now needs a license too. The act also drops the rule that let a contractor answer a complaint and fix the problem before the board could start discipline. The board may now begin discipline once the contractor has answered. The Montana Senate passed it 35-14, and it became law.

April 25, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against House Bill 396, which changes Montana's bail rules in three ways. A person brought back to Montana from another state on a warrant may not be released on bail right away. They must first come before the judge who issued the warrant, or another judge nearby if that judge is away. When an agreement between states applies, that agreement and federal law control. Judges must also weigh whether a person has fled or skipped court before, and what it cost the state to bring them back. That applies both to release and to the amount of bail. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 24, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against House Bill 953, which adds direct primary care to the services Montana Medicaid may cover. In direct primary care a patient or their plan pays a doctor a set fee, instead of paying visit by visit. The coverage is optional, so the health department may add it by rule but does not have to. The law also bars the department from making an enrollee join a case management program if that person has a direct care agreement. It sets aside $5,000 to carry the change out. The Montana Senate passed it 28-22, and it became law.

April 24, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 411, which stops farm and forest land paying open space levies. A local government may levy a property tax to buy or protect open space. Farm land, forest land, the farm buildings on that land and farm machinery were already exempt from the property taxes that repay open space bonds. The act widens that exemption to cover all open space levies, not only bond repayments. It applies to levies and bonds voters have already approved, and starts with the 2026 property tax year. The Montana Senate passed it 38-12, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 819, which limits which flags may be flown on public property in Montana. It covers buildings, grounds, vehicles and uniforms of the state, counties, towns, schools and colleges. Only flags on a set list may be shown. That list holds the United States flag, Montana's flag, other state flags, tribal flags, other countries' flags, military flags, some old flags, school mascot flags and police flags. A flag that stands for a political view is barred. The act names party, race, sexual orientation, gender and belief. Staff clothing and jewellery are not covered unless a dress code applies. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 710, which gives child exploitation investigators a new way to get records. A judge of the Supreme Court or a district court may issue an order compelling a company to hand over records, at the request of an officer on an Internet Crimes Against Children task force. The officer must swear a written statement, the case must involve the sexual exploitation of a minor, and the judge must find that justice requires the order. Only listed account details may be demanded, such as the name, address, e-mail, telephone number and payment source. The contents of messages are not on that list. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 801, the Montana Firearms Liability Clarification Act. The act limits lawsuits over the way guns and ammunition are sold and advertised. A person may no longer sue a maker or seller over its ads unless four tests are all met. The ads must have aimed at people who by law may not own guns, and must have urged illegal use. They must be a direct cause of the harm, and must break a law written just about gun sales or gun ads. General consumer laws and nuisance laws no longer count. A person who sues anyway can be told to pay the firm's legal costs, and the firm may then sue that person. The Montana Senate passed it 37-13, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 719, which adds date of birth to Montana's voting paperwork. A person registering to vote must give a date of birth as well as an identification number. Someone voting by absentee or mail ballot must write it on the signature envelope. Election staff must check that date against the record before counting the ballot as a regular one. If it is missing or does not match, the voter is notified and has until 8 p.m. on election day to fix it. A ballot not fixed in time is treated as provisional. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 337, which cuts the state income tax in two steps. In 2026 the top rate drops from 5.9% to 5.65%. A single filer also pays the lower 4.7% rate on the first $47,500 of taxable income, up from the first $20,500. Taxable income is what is left after deductions. In 2027 the top rate falls again to 5.4%, and that bracket grows to $65,000 for a single filer. The law also doubles the state earned income tax credit, a refund for lower-paid workers, from 10% to 20% of the federal credit. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against House Bill 931, which is about state trust land. That is public land the state rents out to raise money for schools and other public uses. A business lease of this land may now cover building single-family or apartment housing, run through one master tenant who manages the project. The law names one example: such a lease can be signed with a nonprofit group to build attainable workforce housing, meaning homes priced for people who work in the area. The Montana Senate passed it 33-17, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against House Bill 891, which lets the state health department demand records without going to a judge. The department has an inspector general who looks into waste, fraud and abuse in health services and public assistance. That office may now order a person or company to hand over financial records, documents and data, including electronic data. The material must be relevant to such an investigation. Every order must be signed by both the department director and the inspector general. Unlike a court order, no judge reviews it first. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 888, which bars a local health board from requiring anyone to be vaccinated. A local board of health runs public health for a county or city. The act says such a board may not require a person to receive any vaccination, medication, supplement or other drug treatment. No exception is written in for an outbreak, for schools, for health care workers, or for a declared emergency. The act sets aside $300 so the state health department can tell local boards about the change. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 690, which changes what counts as child abuse or neglect in Montana. The act adds the same wording in five places. It says that raising a child in a way that matches the child's biological sex is not abuse or neglect. That covers related mental health and medical choices. So that conduct alone can no longer support a finding against a parent. The act also limits what lawmakers may pass on when they read child protection files. The department must mark and list privileged papers, and a lawmaker may not hand that material to a parent. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

April 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against House Bill 685, which changes the rule protecting Montana water that is cleaner than the law requires. To get permission to make such water dirtier, an applicant must still prove four things. One of them used to have two parts: that the project brings important economic or social development, and that its benefit outweighs the cost to society of the added pollution. The law drops the cost-benefit part and keeps the development part, now tied to the area where the clean water is. The other three tests stay, and so do the public comment period and the right to appeal. The law also renames the permission a feasibility allowance. The Montana Senate passed it 33-17, and it became law.

April 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 375, which bars shops from selling hemp products that contain THC. THC is the substance in cannabis that makes people high. Hemp is the same plant grown with very little of it, but some products concentrate it. The act says a hemp product containing THC may not be sold to a consumer in Montana. It covers anything meant to be eaten, smoked, vaped or otherwise taken, not only edibles. The only exception is a product the federal food and drug regulator has approved as a food or a medicine. Sales between businesses for resale are not covered. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

April 17, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 147, which helps a homeowner argue that a neighbourhood rule has been dropped. Many housing estates carry recorded rules, and a homeowners' association enforces them. The act says that for a homeowner's defence, enforcing a rule means the association applied it evenly and consistently to every property it covers, for at least 2 years. So an association that has let a rule slide, or applied it to some homes and not others, is on weaker ground when it tries to enforce it. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 665, which protects unpaid officers of small charities from a tax debt. When a company fails to hand over the tax withheld from staff wages, the officer responsible can be made to pay it personally. The act lifts that personal liability for officers and directors of a small nonprofit. Three things bring it back. The protection is lost if the officer is paid for their work, though covering their expenses does not count. It is lost if the charity stays more than 12 months behind with unpaid tax, penalties and interest. And it is lost if the officer takes part in fraud, embezzlement or deliberate wrongdoing. The Montana Senate passed it 36-14, and it became law.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 587, which raises the bar for proving a coal mine has harmed water. The legal test is called material damage. Before, going over a state water quality limit counted as harm on its own, even if no one's water use suffered. Now the harm must be measured with confidence, and must block a use of water outside the mine's permit area that the state already lists. The act also names two new kinds of harm: damage to farming on the flat land along a stream, and sinking ground from mining below that hurts land or buildings. The change reaches back to permit fights and court cases that were still open when it was signed. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 16, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 39, which sets rules for what a lawyer may charge the losing side. When a court orders one side to pay the other's legal costs, the act says the amount must be reasonable and lists what a request must show. Time must be billed in tenths of an hour, each task described specifically, and expenses itemised with receipts. Four things are assumed unreasonable unless argued otherwise, including sending more than one lawyer to a deposition and charging above the state average rate with under 10 years in practice. Where the state is paying, the court must weigh what the state's own lawyers charge. The rules apply to requests of $10,000 or more, and to cases already under way. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 625, which docks a county's state money if it does not report child abuse cases. County attorneys must report certain information about child abuse and neglect cases to the attorney general. If a county attorney misses a reporting deadline, the attorney general must notify the county within 10 days, and the county attorney then has 30 days to send the missing information. If the county still has not complied, the attorney general names it in a yearly report to the revenue department, which must then cut the county's entitlement share payment by 2 percent. The entitlement share is the yearly payment counties receive from the state. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 133, which limits the impact fees a local government may charge on new building. An impact fee is a one-off charge meant to cover the cost of new roads, water lines or similar services. The act removes the extra charge of up to 5 percent that a local government could add to cover the cost of running the fee scheme. It also caps how fast an impact fee may rise, tying any increase to the producer price index for all commodities. Fees for plan review and inspection are unaffected. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 638, which bars state and local agencies from asking for a diversity statement. That means a paper meant to promote different treatment based on a person's traits. The law lists race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, and gender identity. An agency may not ask for one, or press a person to give one. It may not give any edge to a person who hands one in. The rule covers state offices, colleges, counties, cities, towns, and school districts. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 664, which repeals Montana's base numeric nutrient standards for water. Those standards, adopted in 2014 in a state circular called DEQ-12A, set numeric limits on nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed algae growth. The environmental quality department must repeal that circular and the variances that went with it. It must also strip references to them from 14 rules and from its guidance, testing methods, and pollution budgets. The law repeals the state's transition rules for nutrient standards and ends the advisory nutrient work group. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

April 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 521, which bars someone convicted of a crime from suing over injuries they got committing it. The bar applies only where the injury was caused by a victim, and only where that victim used no force at all or used force the law treats as justified. If the victim used force that was not justified, the person may still sue. The rule also turns on there being a conviction, so a person who is charged but not convicted is not covered. The Montana Senate passed it 34-14, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 365, which stops a court weighing how the legislature behaved when awarding legal costs. If someone sues the state over a law and wins, the court may order the state to pay their legal costs where the state fought the case in bad faith. The act says the conduct of the legislature in passing the law may not count in that judgement, and may not be put in evidence for it. It says this applies even where the court finds the state's defence was pointless or in bad faith. It reaches back to court cases already under way. The Montana Senate passed it 31-17, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 442, which removes two duties to report a doctor to the licensing board. An insurer had to tell the Board of Medical Examiners when a claim alleged professional negligence by a doctor. The act repeals that duty outright. It also deletes the rule that made a medical legal panel send a copy of its decision to the health care provider's licensing board. The board therefore learns of fewer negligence allegations from these routes. The chiropractic part of the act's title changes only a section heading. The Montana Senate passed it 30-18, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 393, which makes small Montana towns record their public meetings. A town with more than 300 people must now make an audio recording of a public meeting. It must put the recording online within 14 business days, with a link on the town's website. A town with no website must keep a social media page and post the link there. If the recording fails for technical reasons, the town must post a notice saying why and what it is doing to fix it. Larger cities, counties and school boards already had similar duties. The Montana Senate passed it 37-11, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 476, which pays for newborn safety devices. These are safe places where a parent may legally leave a newborn baby they cannot care for. The state health department must run a grant competition open to fire departments, hospitals and law enforcement agencies. The money covers putting a device in and keeping it working. No applicant may receive more than $20,000. The act sets aside $160,000 from the general fund for the two years starting July 2025. The department must report on the results by September 2027, and the program ends in June 2027. The Montana Senate passed it 32-16, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 467, which adds oral fluid testing to Montana's drunk and drugged driving rules. Oral fluid is saliva, taken with a mouth swab. A driver on Montana roads already agrees in advance to a blood or breath test when an officer has good reason to suspect impaired driving. The act adds saliva to that list, for ordinary drivers and for commercial drivers. An officer may choose which test to give, and results are treated the same way as blood or breath results. The Montana Senate passed it 38-10, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 466, which lets state agencies skip environmental review for whole groups of actions. Each agency must list the actions it judges to have no major effect on the environment. Those actions are then exempt from Montana's environmental study law. Anything already exempt under the matching federal rules is exempt too. The agency may assume no unusual facts apply unless someone shows otherwise. The act also exempts work on state buildings. Agencies must count how often they use this and report it on request. The Montana Senate passed it 38-10, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 711, which is about who may chair the commission that redraws Montana's district lines. Four commissioners are named by legislative leaders, and those four pick a fifth member to preside. If they cannot agree in time, the Supreme Court picks the fifth member instead. The court may no longer choose anyone who has given money in the past ten years to a major party candidate for state or federal office. The Montana Senate passed it 29-19, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 809, which is about what are often called red flag orders. A red flag order is a court order that takes away a person's guns, or bars them from having guns, to lower the risk of a shooting. City and county governments in Montana may no longer adopt or enforce one, or take grant money to help run one. A local government that tries to enforce one can be fined up to $10,000 each time. Restraining orders in domestic violence cases are not affected. The Montana Senate passed it 29-19, and it became law.

April 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 154, which bans selling human bodies and widens the ban on selling body parts. Montana already barred buying or selling a part for transplant or treatment. The act extends that to parts sold for research, for teaching, and for training search and rescue dogs. It adds tissue from a dead embryo or foetus to what counts as a part, though established cell lines are excluded. Selling a whole body for any of those purposes is banned for the first time. Reasonable payment for removing, storing or transporting remains lawful. The Montana Senate passed it 36-14, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 149, which makes it harder to prove the need for an emotional support animal. A landlord may ask a tenant for backing information. What that information must hold is now set by law, not left open. The health worker who confirms the need must hold a Montana licence. That worker must also have decided themselves that the animal gives the support. On a mobile home lot, handing over the papers does not force the landlord to let the animal in, so long as other laws are met. Service animals are not affected. The Montana Senate passed it 40-10, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 791, which rewrites Montana's law on public nuisance and puts products beyond it. A public nuisance used to cover anything harmful to a whole community. It now covers only conditions arising from the use of land, plus blocking a public road or waterway. A closed list of things can never be a public nuisance. That list includes the design, manufacture, sale or marketing of any product, and names firearms, firearm parts and ammunition. A government suing may no longer recover damages of any kind, only limited clean-up costs. A private person must prove an injury different in kind from the public's, and group claims are barred. The state's opioid case is protected for four years. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 723, which makes medical facilities report on infants born alive after an abortion or an attempted abortion. A report is due by February 28 each year, even when the number is zero. It must give the rough stage of pregnancy, what was done to save the infant's life, the outcome, and any health problems. A facility that files late may be fined up to $500. Another $500 may be added for each further 30 days. The state health department must publish a yearly total, with no way to identify anyone. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 759, which limits how business firms may give money to candidates. A candidate may take a gift from a limited liability company or a partnership in one case only. The firm must be taxed as a sole proprietorship or as a partnership. A firm taxed as a corporation may no longer give at all. Any such gift must be reported under the name of the member or partner who really gave it. That person's own individual contribution limit under state law then applies. So it is now harder to give more than the personal limit by routing money through a firm. The Montana Senate passed it 40-10, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 740, which tightens rules on pharmacy benefit managers. These are the companies that run drug benefits for health plans. They may not stop a pharmacist from telling a patient about a cheaper option. They may not punish a pharmacist who does. They may not make a pharmacy collect a copay larger than the amount it billed. The law limits what a pharmacy audit can take back. It requires drug price lists to be updated at least every 10 days and shared with pharmacies. It also sets a pay floor for independent pharmacies. They get the drug's national average cost, plus a fee of at least $15 for filling it, and that fee rises each year. These rules apply to conduct on or after October 1, 2025, and the whole law expires on June 30, 2029. The Montana Senate passed it 39-11, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 687, which changes a rule for adults on the state's expanded Medicaid. To keep their health coverage, they must spend 80 hours a month working, training, studying, or volunteering. The rule had covered people aged 19 through 55, and it now reaches people up to age 62. People who are pregnant, disabled, very sick, homeless, or caring for someone who cannot care for themselves are still excused. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against House Bill 388, which protects pregnancy centers. These are private nonprofit groups that promote childbirth and other choices besides abortion. State and local government may not make such a center offer abortion, abortion drugs, or birth control, or send people elsewhere for them. Government also may not stop a center from giving its services, or make it hire someone who does not share its anti-abortion mission. A center that wins a lawsuit under the law gets at least $50,000 plus legal fees, and a court may triple that if the government acted with malice. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

April 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against House Bill 764, which changes how Montana towns run and leave public transport districts. A county commission may now start creating or enlarging a district by its own resolution, with a map and a public hearing, instead of waiting for a residents' petition. An area that has had no service within one and a half miles for the last 5 years may leave the district if 51 percent of its voters sign a petition, and it escapes the district's existing debts. A town bus service may also run beyond the usual 8-mile limit if outside money pays for it. The Montana Senate passed it 34-14, and it became law.

April 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 804, which changes Montana's lobbying reports. A group that pays for lobbying must register and report once its yearly spending passes a set figure. The act sets that figure at $3,000 for 2025. That matches the figure already in force under the state's inflation updates, so the act does not change who must report. The figure keeps moving with inflation after each general election. Reports must now be filed electronically. The act also lowers the point at which a month's spending triggers a separate monthly report, from $5,000 down to $3,000, so more months of heavy spending must be reported. The Montana Senate passed it 35-13, and it became law.

April 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 413, which tightens the test for where a person counts as living for voting. A person does not gain residence in a county or in Montana by relocating there for a temporary purpose. The law names temporary work, training, and an educational program as examples. The test is whether the person means to make the place their permanent home once that work or program ends. The other residence rules are unchanged. The Montana Senate passed it 30-18, and it became law.

April 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 400, the Free to Speak Act, which is about names and pronouns in public schools and state offices. A student may not be punished for refusing to say what pronouns they use. A student also may not be punished for refusing to call someone by a name or pronoun that does not match that person's sex. School staff and anyone dealing with a state or local agency get the same protection. A person punished anyway may sue for money, legal fees, and a court order, within two years. The Montana Senate passed it 28-20, and it became law.

April 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 703, which narrows what state environmental reviews must cover. Building code officials, state and local, no longer have to study greenhouse gases from covered appliances. That applies when they adopt or enforce a building code. The state also no longer has to study greenhouse gases given off outside Montana. That covers new motor vehicles, their engines, and new off-road engines. The Montana Senate passed it 36-12, and it became law.

April 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 694, which discourages placing a Montana child with a family abroad. When the state places a child in foster care or for adoption, it follows an order of preference. Extended family, including close family friends, comes first, then people from the child's own community. The act adds that placing a child outside the United States is disfavoured. Children covered by the federal or Montana Indian Child Welfare Act are not subject to that rule. The act also rewrites the policy statement at the head of the child abuse and neglect law. The Montana Senate passed it 30-18, and it became law.

April 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 531, which bars courts from reviewing the rules the legislature writes for itself. The act states that the legislature alone may make, enforce, interpret, suspend, repeal or waive the rules for its own proceedings. A judge may not review or interpret one of those rules. The one exception is a rule that conflicts with the Montana constitution or the United States constitution. Before the act, a court could be asked whether the legislature had followed its own rules. The Montana Senate passed it 29-19, and it became law.

April 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 471, which changes the rules for school lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity. The law calls these lessons identity instruction. A school may not let a child attend them unless a parent agrees in writing first. Before, a parent could pull a child out but did not have to give permission. Parents must also get notice five to fourteen school days ahead, instead of the old 48 hours. If school trustees find that someone broke these rules on purpose or again and again, they must report it to the Board of Public Education. The Montana Senate passed it 28-20, and it became law.

April 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 342, which limits what a patient must prove in a medical malpractice case. Montana holds a medical provider to a reasonable standard of care. Under the act, the fact that a risk was foreseeable, even a specific risk, does not raise that standard. So a patient cannot argue that a known risk required extra care beyond what is reasonable. The act applies to malpractice cases filed on or after the day it took effect, and says it is meant to override any court ruling to the contrary. The Montana Senate passed it 32-17, and it became law.

April 9, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 655, which protects adoption and foster care providers who act on religious belief. The state may not act against a provider because it gave, or refused to give, a service in line with its sincerely held religious belief, or because of policies it keeps on that basis. The state also may not act against a foster or adoptive parent because of how their religious belief shapes the way they raise a child. The state may still take religion into account to place a child with a family of the same faith. A person may sue the state, or raise the act as a defence. The Montana Senate passed it 29-19, and it became law.

April 8, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 427, which makes a building department explain itself in writing. The rule applies when the state labor department or a local building department holds up a permit past the normal review time. It also applies when one of them stops work for breaking the building code. The applicant or builder may then ask in writing for the code sections being relied on. The department must give the text or the citation within 7 working days. If it misses that, it owes the person $50 for every day it is late. The person may also sue in district court, and the winning side may be paid its legal costs. The Montana Senate passed it 39-10, and it became law.

April 7, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 4, 2026

Voted against House Bill 201, which is about people paid to collect signatures for ballot petitions. A paid gatherer must now say out loud that they are paid, give their first name, and name the state where they legally live. They must say this to everyone they approach about signing. They must also wear a badge showing the same details, with their full first name and last initial. The law took effect at once. The Montana Senate adopted the final compromise version 27-22, and it became law.

April 4, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 285, which rewrites the Montana Environmental Policy Act. That law sets how the state studies the environmental effects of projects it permits. The law repeals the act's broad statement of state environmental policy and the rule that other state laws be read in line with it. It also drops the duty to recognize long-range environmental harm. A study is now meant to inform the public and lawmakers, and an agency may not deny a permit or add conditions to it because of what a study found. Someone who goes to court to argue that a permit decision is unconstitutional must first prove the underlying law is unconstitutional, and the case must be filed in the county where the project would happen. The Montana Senate passed it 31-18, and it became law.

April 4, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 291, which limits how strict Montana's air pollution rules may be. The state may no longer set limits tighter than the federal Clean Air Act. Two exceptions remain. Limits already in place before this law still stand. So do limits needed in areas that fail federal air quality standards. The law also removes the path that let the state set a tighter rule after a public hearing and a written, science-backed finding. City and county air programs lose that path too, and may now only match state rules. The Montana Senate passed it 30-19, and it became law.

April 4, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 534, which frees new internet and mobile phone kit from property tax. Fibre optic cable, coaxial cable and wireless kit first put to use on or after the day the act starts pays no property tax for 5 years. In return the owner must spend the tax saving on new cable or wireless kit in Montana. It has 2 years from the date it first claims the break to do so. Owners must keep records proving it. The act also changes the existing tax cuts for phone and internet property. The Montana Senate passed it 40-10, and it became law.

April 3, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 344, which creates a new drugged driving offense. A driver breaks the law if a blood test shows a set amount of certain drugs and the driver has no valid prescription. The act lists nine substances with ten blood limits, measured in nanograms per milliliter. They include amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, morphine, LSD, methamphetamine, phencyclidine and fentanyl. Reaching the limit is the offense by itself, so a prosecutor need not also prove the driver was impaired. The offense covers both ordinary and commercial drivers. The Montana Senate passed it 36-14, and it became law.

April 2, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 278, which is about traffic and street stops by police. An officer who has lawfully stopped someone may now try to check that person's immigration status. The officer does this when there is reason to suspect a problem and when it is practical, and may skip it if it would get in the way of a case. If the officer finds the person is not lawfully in the country, the officer must report it to a federal immigration agency. The Montana Senate passed it 30-20, and it became law.

April 1, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against House Bill 254, which drops background checks for firms that hire out staff and run payroll for other firms. The law calls them professional employer organizations. To get a license, the applicant and its owners used to have to give fingerprints. The prints went to the Montana justice department and to the FBI for a criminal record check. The act strikes that step. It also strikes the rules on who could see the report and the duty to destroy the fingerprint card. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

March 31, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 259, which changes how Montana manages gray wolves. The Fish and Wildlife Commission must now set different rules in different parts of the state, with the loosest harvest rules where wolves are most numerous. Before, it could do that but did not have to. The act also lets the commission allow infrared scopes and thermal imagery scopes for hunting wolves on private land at night. Artificial light and night vision scopes were already allowed. The rule that the wolf population stay at or above 15 breeding pairs does not change. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

March 31, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 3, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 337, which lets a builder pause property tax while building a new subdivision. The builder applies to the revenue department. It must pay up front five times the property tax and charges owed for the most recent year, plus a 5% fee. The county treasurer shares that money out to the same funds as normal property tax. Once approved, the land pays no property tax from the start of the next tax year, for up to five years. The break ends sooner on any lot once a home is built on it, and for the whole subdivision once 95% of the lots have homes. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

March 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 165, which removes the notary step from transferring a vehicle. Signing over a car title used to need an oath sworn in front of a notary or another official who could take oaths. The act lets the person sign under penalty of perjury instead, using Montana's ordinary declaration rule. A bill of sale no longer has to be notarised either, though a sworn statement confirming it is genuine must go with it. The justice department may not bring the notary requirement back by rule. The Montana Senate passed it 37-13, and it became law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 215, which ends the duty to seek balanced membership on state boards. People who fill seats on state boards and councils used to be told by law to work toward two goals. One was an even split between men and women. The other was to seat minority residents in step with their share of the state. The act deletes both goals. It also deletes the governor's duty to report to the legislature on how it was going. All that is left is the monthly list of new appointments and coming vacancies. The Montana Senate passed it 33-17, and it became law.

March 24, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 214, which is about people held for federal immigration reasons. Montana may now charge such a person with a state crime. The state may hand the person to federal officers, or keep them until the state case ends. A local prosecutor who is thinking of dropping a case like this must first tell the state attorney general. That gives the attorney general time to step in and bring the charge instead. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

March 24, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 300, which adds two rules to Montana's ban on discrimination in education. A school breaks the law if it lets a person whose sex is male take part in a sports program set aside for females. A school also breaks the law if it fails to give a person a restroom, locker room, shower, or sleeping area. Such a space must be closed to people of the opposite sex while it is in use. There are exceptions for cleaning, medical help, and emergencies. A school may still set up single-occupancy or family rooms, and may change which sex a room is set aside for. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

March 20, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against House Bill 211, which sets rules for having beer and wine delivered to your door. A shop with an off-premises licence may now deliver, and a separate third-party delivery licence is created for firms that deliver on a shop's behalf. The shop, not the delivery firm, makes the sale and sets the price. A driver must be at least 21, hold a licence, have no drink-driving offence in the past 7 years, and be trained. The person receiving it must be at least 21 and have their identification scanned, and nothing may be handed to someone who is obviously drunk. The Montana Senate passed it 37-12, and it became law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 197, which changes when an insurer may stop paying a hurt worker. Temporary total disability pay goes to a worker who cannot work at all while recovering. The insurer normally must give 14 days' written notice before stopping it. Under the act, if a doctor clears the worker to return to full duty, the insurer may end the pay from the day the worker went back to work, or after 14 days' notice, whichever comes first. That lets the pay stop from the earlier date rather than after the notice period. The Montana Senate passed it 35-14, and it became law.

March 17, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 495, which abolishes the board that oversaw Montana's tobacco prevention spending. Money from the tobacco settlement funds programmes to stop people smoking and to treat the diseases it causes. A tobacco prevention advisory board reviewed how that money was used. The act repeals the board and removes the line that let the legislature fund it. The underlying programmes and the shares of settlement money that pay for them are unchanged. The Montana Senate passed it 39-10, and it became law.

March 6, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 511, which opens up who pays for lawsuits and shuts out money from hostile foreign governments. Sometimes an outside investor pays a person's legal costs and takes a share of any winnings. The act adds rules on what such a funder may do. It bars a government named as an enemy of the United States, and anyone based in or tied to one, from paying for a lawsuit in Montana, directly or through another funder. Other foreign funders may still take part, but the funder must give the Secretary of State their name and a copy of the deal. A party to a case may not pass private business information to any foreign person. The Montana Senate passed it 34-15, and it became law.

March 6, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 457, which gives the legislature teeth when someone ignores a subpoena. A subpoena is an order to appear or to hand over records. If a person does not comply, the chamber that issued it may vote to hold them in contempt. When the legislature is not sitting, members may be polled by post instead. A person convicted of criminal contempt of the legislature faces a fine of up to $1,000, up to 12 months in county jail, or both. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

March 6, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 91, which puts a citizenship mark on Montana driver's licenses and state identification cards. Starting January 1, 2026, a card issued to a United States citizen carries a picture of an eagle. Cards issued to people who are not citizens do not carry it. So the card itself shows whether the holder is a citizen. The rule applies only to cards issued on or after that date, so older cards keep their current look. The Montana Senate passed it 33-16, and it became law.

March 6, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 310, which changes how Montana pays for trails. The trail grant programme is renamed the trail stewardship grant programme, and the money is now split by law: 40 percent to motorised projects, 40 percent to non-motorised projects and 20 percent to projects serving both. Unused money in one share may be moved to another. Grants may pay for more things than before, including safety and ethics education, condition surveys, and buying and maintaining equipment. Up to 75 percent of a grant may be paid at the time it is awarded, with the last 25 percent released once the first part is spent and reported. The Montana Senate passed it 32-17, and it became law.

March 5, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 342, which puts the state court administrator under the chief justice alone. The court administrator runs the day-to-day business of Montana's court system. That post used to be filled by the Supreme Court acting as a body, and the holder served at the court's pleasure. The act gives the appointment, the direction and the power to dismiss to the chief justice personally. It applies not only to future appointments but to the person already in the job. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

March 3, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 214, which tips close zoning arguments toward the landowner. Some land is used in a way that was legal when it started but no longer fits the zoning rules. Where the rules are unclear about whether that use is allowed, the act says the doubt must be read in favour of the use. The same applies to whether it was allowed when it began. The act also takes away the power of historic preservation boards to review requests for zoning permits and for exceptions to the rules. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

February 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 20, which changes how a local government asks voters to approve a property tax. The question must now name a fixed number of dollars, not a number of mills. A mill is a rate, so a levy set in mills brings in more money as property values rise. A levy set in dollars stays put, and the rate floats to hit it. Counties, cities, towns, and special districts may ask voters to let the amount grow by half of recent inflation. School districts may not. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

February 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 262, which cuts environmental review out of subdivision approval. The state now skips the Montana Environmental Policy Act for every subdivision application, not just small ones far from high-quality waters. It also skips that act when it reviews water or sewer plans. Local governments that review small water and sewer systems drop two steps. They no longer file environmental policy act papers or property takings papers. They must still decide whether water quality would get worse. The Montana Senate passed it 39-11, and it became law.

February 21, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 275, which makes it easier to build on farmland taken into a town. Land split off under a farming exemption carries a promise, recorded on the title, that it will stay in farm use. Changing that use normally forces the split through full subdivision review. The act adds a third way for a local council to lift that promise and let the split go ahead without review. It applies where the land has been taken into a town. Health and sanitation rules still apply. The Montana Senate passed it 34-16, and it became law.

February 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 39, which lets political parties give money to candidates for judge. Montana law had banned party gifts to judicial candidates outright, and that ban is now repealed. Judges in Montana still run on a nonpartisan ballot, with no party label beside their names. The change also reaches justices of the peace, who had been covered by the same ban. The Montana Senate passed it 25-23, and it became law.

February 15, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 221, which changes how Montana weighs greenhouse gases in environmental reviews. State law had barred agencies from studying greenhouse gases and their effect on the climate, and that ban is repealed. An agency may now do a greenhouse gas assessment when it decides one is needed. It must do one for a project that counts as a fossil fuel activity under state law. The environmental quality department must write public guidance on when an assessment is needed and how to do it, after public notice and comment. The law also drops a rule that had kept a greenhouse gas complaint from undoing or delaying a permit. The Montana Senate passed it 37-13, and it became law.

February 13, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 193, which moves the power to appoint the board that examines would-be lawyers. The attorneys' examining board decides who may practise law in Montana. Its members used to be appointed by the Montana Supreme Court acting as a body of seven justices. The act gives that power to the chief justice alone. The chief justice may also remove a member, set the board's duties, and make the rules that govern it. The board still may not exceed seven members. The Montana Senate passed it 31-19, and it became law.

February 12, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against House Bill 121, which sets rules for shared restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping areas. Public buildings, public schools, prisons, youth lockups, and domestic violence shelters must set each one aside for one sex only. People may not use the one set aside for the other sex, except to clean, to give medical or police help, or in an emergency. The law defines male and female by biology, and says a person's own sense of gender does not count. Someone who meets a person of the other sex in one of these rooms may sue the operator. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

February 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 31, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 97, which moves lawsuits over new Montana laws out of the capital. If someone argues in court that a law passed or changed in the current two-year legislative period is unconstitutional, or seeks to block it, the case must be heard in a county inside the home district of the legislator who sponsored the bill. That period starts in January of each odd-numbered year and lasts two years. A judge must move a case filed elsewhere if a party asks, and the same applies when the bill's sponsor joins the case. Before the act, such a case was usually heard where the state government sits. The Montana Senate passed it 32-18, and it became law.

January 31, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 48, which lets a person speak in public about a complaint they filed against a judge. Complaints to the Judicial Standards Commission are normally kept private, and that duty used to bind the person who complained. The act gives a citizen the right to make their own complaint public at any time. The commission may then confirm it is looking into the matter, explain the steps, note that the judge denies it, or say there is not enough proof. The Montana Senate passed it 30-19, and it became law.

January 30, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 41, which changes how a replacement judge is chosen. When a district judge is removed from a case, disqualified, or steps aside, the next judge must now be picked at random. The state court administrator writes the procedure and had to send it to every district judge by October 15, 2025. The method must still keep the replacement judge reasonably close by, while staying random. The Montana Senate passed it 32-17, and it became law.

January 29, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 2, 2026

Voted against Senate Bill 30, which narrows an old rule that lets a conflicted judge stay on a case. The rule of necessity says a judge with a conflict of interest may still hear a case when there is no one else to hear it. The act says a judge may not lean on that rule to avoid stepping aside when other judges are available whose conflicts are smaller or less direct. Nothing else about when a judge must step aside changes. The Montana Senate passed it 31-18, and it became law.

January 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026