HB 53 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise law allowing for troop labor to execute projects

HB 53 amends Montana's public contract law to explicitly allow military personnel from the Department of Military Affairs to perform construction or improvement projects on state buildings or grounds without requiring competitive bidding. This change directly affects state military projects, removing the $150,000 bidding requirement that normally applies to such work. The bill adds a new exception to the existing law (Section 18-2-301, MCA) that previously excluded inmate labor and specific historic preservation work at Bannack but did not cover military labor. The policy change takes effect July 1, 2028, aligning with the law's inflation adjustment cycle for the bidding threshold.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2024
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Dec 11, 2024 Signed Apr 7, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 12 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0053_X(5).pdf HB0053_X(6).pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill text shows minor formatting and numbering updates from HB0053 to HB 53, with no substantive policy changes. The changes include adjusting the bill number format and updating the legislature year reference.
TECHNICAL

Bill number format changed from 'HB0053' to 'HB 53' in header and footer sections

Minor spacing adjustments in the legislature year reference line

Floor votes · Senate Mar 25, 2025 · House Jan 22, 2025

How they voted

473
Passed
Total votes 50
Mar 25, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
29 Yea 3 Nay
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
39
Key actions
10
Committee
7
Apr 7, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Mar 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 25, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (47-3)
senate
Mar 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) State Administration
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) State Administration
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Jan 22, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (99-1)
house
Jan 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Jan 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Jan 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Dec 20, 2024
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Dec 11, 2024
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of George Nikolakakos
George Nikolakakos
RRepublican
MT
22