HB 846 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revising property taxation for certain local government subdivisions

HB 846 revises property taxation for school districts by establishing a system of "reconciliation payments" between them. These payments apply when a student, defined as an "isolated pupil," resides in one school district but attends school in a contiguous district because geographic conditions prevent access to the resident district's services. A school district educating an isolated pupil can petition the county superintendent for a payment from the pupil's resident district, provided specific financial and geographic criteria are met. If approved, the resident school district is required to levy a property tax to make this reconciliation payment, reimbursing the attending district for the isolated pupil's education.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Mar 19, 2025 Signed May 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0846_X(2).pdf HB0846_X(3).pdf · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill updates the definitions section to clarify how specific terms like 'district operational levies' and 'isolated pupil' are interpreted. These changes ensure consistency with other state statutes and refine the scope of funding and eligibility criteria for school districts.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on school district funding and operations, but the definitions now explicitly exclude countywide levies from operational levies and specify conditions for isolated pupils.
DEFINITION

The definition of 'district operational levies' was adjusted to explicitly state that it does not include countywide school levies, clarifying the types of taxes covered.

The definition of 'isolated pupil' was refined to specify that the pupil must be enrolled in a nonresident district contiguous to their resident district under specific conditions.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the spacing and indentation of the definitions list.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 18, 2025 · House Apr 25, 2025

How they voted

500
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 18, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
32 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
47
Key actions
9
Committee
7
Amendments
1
May 13, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
May 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
May 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 25, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (70-30)
house
Apr 22, 2025
Introduced
(S) Returned to House with Amendments
upper
Apr 18, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (50-0)
senate
Apr 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Apr 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Mar 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Education
lower
Mar 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Education
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Education
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ken Walsh
Ken Walsh
RRepublican
MT
69