HB 217 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Transfer the state building energy conservation program to the Dept. of Administration A&E division

House Bill 217 transfers the State Building Energy Conservation Program from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Architecture and Engineering Division within the Department of Administration. This means the A&E Division will now manage efforts to identify state-owned buildings for energy savings, conduct energy analyses, and implement improvements. The bill also allows the Department of Environmental Quality to retain certain federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds previously allocated to the program. This change affects state agencies and aims to consolidate the administration of state building energy efficiency.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Jan 15, 2025 Signed May 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 7 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0217_3(14).pdf HB0217_X.pdf · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill transfers the State Building Energy Conservation Program from the Department of Environmental Quality to the new Architecture and Engineering Division within the Department of Administration. The change aims to centralize energy management under the agency responsible for state building standards, while allowing the Department of Environmental Quality to keep specific federal funding streams.
Scope change
The program's administrative home changed from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Architecture and Engineering Division of the Department of Administration.
SCOPE

The bill's title and operative text were updated to reflect the transfer of the energy conservation program to the Architecture and Engineering Division.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Division' was updated to explicitly name the Architecture and Engineering Division of the Department of Administration, replacing the previous reference to the Department of Environmental Quality.

REQUIREMENT

Procedural language regarding project selection and reporting was updated to refer to the 'department division' (the new Architecture and Engineering Division) instead of the Department of Environmental Quality.

The duties of the division were adjusted to clarify that it transfers funds and authority to the Department of Administration for procurement and training, rather than performing those actions directly.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 4, 2025 · House Apr 8, 2025

How they voted

472
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 50
Apr 4, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
29 Yea 2 Nay 1
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
48
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
1
May 1, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 8, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (97-0-3)
house
Apr 4, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (47-2-1)
senate
Apr 4, 2025
Introduced
(S) Returned to House with Amendments
upper
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) State Administration
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) State Administration
upper
Feb 20, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Jan 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) State Administration
lower
Jan 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) State Administration
lower
Jan 16, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) State Administration
lower
Jan 15, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of John Fitzpatrick
John Fitzpatrick
RRepublican
MT
76