Revise remedies to MEPA
HB 270 revises the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) by modifying requirements for environmental reviews conducted by state agencies. The bill clarifies that MEPA is procedural and not intended to provide regulatory authority beyond existing statutes. It updates the criteria for analyzing alternatives in environmental impact statements, requiring them to be technologically achievable and economically feasible for similar projects. Furthermore, the bill mandates that agencies consider regulatory impacts on private property rights and analyze alternatives that reduce or eliminate such regulations. For non-state-sponsored projects, alternative recommendations are not binding on the project sponsor.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Jan 21, 2025
Signed May 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons
What changed between versions
HB0270_X(5).pdf
→
HB0270_X(6).pdf
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to clarify that it provides both an immediate effective date and a specific applicability date. Additionally, new requirements were added to environmental impact statements, mandating that they include an analysis of the economic advantages and disadvantages of proposed projects alongside existing environmental details.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly require economic impact analysis within environmental reviews.
REQUIREMENT
Environmental impact statements must now include an analysis of the economic advantages and disadvantages of the proposed project.
TIMELINE
The effective date provision was clarified to explicitly state that the bill provides both an immediate effective date and a separate applicability date.
Floor votes · Senate Apr 4, 2025 · House Apr 15, 2025
How they voted
44–5
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 50
Apr 4, 2025
D
Democratic18
72% Yea
R
Republican32
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
46
Key actions
11
Committee
9
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 15, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (64-33-3)
house
Apr 4, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (44-5-1)
senate
Apr 4, 2025
Introduced
(S) Returned to House with Amendments
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Mar 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Committee
(S) Rereferred to Committee - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Mar 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Mar 21, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Feb 21, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Feb 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Jan 22, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Jan 21, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Katie Zolnikov
RRepublican
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