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HB 635 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise human rights laws to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs

HB 635 proposes to prohibit state and local government agencies from funding, establishing, or supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. It would prevent these agencies from requiring employees to participate in DEI programs or spending public funds on related services or staff. The bill defines DEI programs as activities that focus on describing power structures, methods to dismantle them, or advancing theories like implicit bias or systemic oppression. However, it includes exceptions for complying with federal law, specific state human rights laws, court orders, and offering sexual harassment training. This legislation directly affects state and local government agencies and their employees in Montana.
Issues: ✗ Criminal JusticeOpposes Criminal JusticeBill prohibits DEI programs addressing systemic oppression and implicit bias - key components of criminal justice reform. This restricts initiatives to reduce bias in law enforcement and courts, aligning with 'oppose' indicators.80% confidence ✗ Labor & EmploymentOpposes Labor & EmploymentProhibits government funding/support for DEI programs addressing workplace discrimination, directly restricting employment equality initiatives under Labor & Employment protections.85% confidence
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 21, 2025 Last action May 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0635_2(4).pdf → HB0635_2(5).pdf · 1 edit
MINOR
The bill was reformatted to use all-caps for key legal terms and definitions, ensuring consistency in how concepts like 'divisive concepts' are presented. No substantive policy changes, funding amounts, or eligibility criteria were altered; the text remains functionally identical to the previous version.
TECHNICAL

Formatting was updated to convert specific legal definitions and section headers to all capital letters for visual emphasis, while the underlying text and meaning remained unchanged.

Floor votes · House Mar 6, 2025

How they voted

52–47
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 100
Mar 6, 2025
D Democratic42
42 Nay
100% Nay
R Republican58
52 Yea 5 Nay 1
89% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
25
Key actions
3
Committee
3
Mar 6, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (52-47-1)
house
Feb 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 22, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 21, 2025
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