Exempt Commerce grants and loans from MEPA
HB 346 exempts various grant and loan programs from environmental review requirements under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). This bill directly affects the Department of Commerce, Board of Housing, and other commissions by removing the need for environmental assessments when authorizing or administering these specific programs. The exemptions apply to programs supporting microbusiness development, historic preservation, workforce training, housing finance, and other economic development initiatives. This aims to streamline the process for providing financial assistance through these identified programs.
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 29, 2025
Signed May 8, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
HB0346_X.pdf
→
HB0346_X(1).pdf
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill underwent minor formatting and structural changes, including the removal of a closing quotation mark from the title and the deletion of the 'END' marker. The sponsor list was slightly adjusted with an additional sponsor added. These are primarily technical amendments rather than substantive policy changes.
TECHNICAL
Removed a closing quotation mark from the bill title.
Deleted the 'END' marker from the document.
Added one sponsor to the list of bill sponsors.
Floor votes · Senate Apr 14, 2025 · House Feb 13, 2025
How they voted
44–3
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 50
Apr 14, 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
42
Key actions
9
Committee
6
May 5, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
Apr 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (44-3-3)
senate
Apr 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Apr 9, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Feb 21, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Feb 13, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (98-1-1)
house
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Jan 30, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Paul Tuss
DDemocratic
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