HB 611 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Generally revise salaries for certain elected officials

HB 611 revises the process for determining the salaries of several elected state officials in Montana, including the Governor, Attorney General, and State Auditor. The Department of Administration is required to conduct a biennial salary survey comparing these officials' salaries to those in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho. If the average salary from the surveyed states is higher, that average will become the new salary for the Montana official, effective July 1 of the following year. This bill also clarifies that the State Auditor serves as the ex officio Commissioner of Insurance and Securities, with the salary changes for the State Auditor taking effect on January 1, 2028.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Signed May 8, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0611_X(1).pdf HB0611_X(2).pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill text shows minor formatting changes and a new applicability date of January 1, 2028 for the state auditor. The substantive policy content regarding the amendment to Section 2-16-405 of the Montana Code Annotated remains unchanged between the two versions.
Scope change
The bill now explicitly states it applies to the state auditor beginning January 1, 2028, establishing a future effective date for the auditor-related provisions.
TIMELINE

Added a specific applicability date of January 1, 2028 for the state auditor, clarifying when the new requirements become effective.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting adjustments including removal of extra blank lines and standardization of text formatting in the bill header and footer sections.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 15, 2025 · House Mar 7, 2025

How they voted

3218
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 15, 2025
D Democratic18
17 Yea 1 Nay
94% Yea
R Republican32
15 Yea 17 Nay
53% Nay
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 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 15, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (32-18)
senate
Apr 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) State Administration
upper
Apr 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) State Administration
upper
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Mar 7, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (95-4-1)
house
Feb 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Scott DeMarois
Scott DeMarois
DDemocratic
MT
71