Revise alcohol laws relating to transfer of a license
SB 241 revises alcohol license transfer laws, primarily affecting businesses that hold or wish to acquire an alcohol license. This bill prohibits the Department of Revenue from denying the transfer of an alcohol license solely because the seller has outstanding taxes, penalties, or interest owed to the department. Instead, the proceeds from the sale of the license may be used to satisfy any existing liens the department has filed against the seller for those debts. This ensures that a seller's tax obligations do not automatically block a license transfer, while still allowing the department to recover owed funds from the sale proceeds.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Jan 29, 2025
Signed Apr 18, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
SB0241_1(5).pdf
→
SB0241_X.pdf
·
4 edits
MODERATE
This bill amends Montana's alcohol licensing laws to prevent the Department of Revenue from denying a license transfer solely because the seller owes outstanding taxes, penalties, or interest. Instead of blocking the sale, any money from the sale will be used to pay those existing debts. The changes also update legal references to align with the new transfer rules.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of license transfers by removing the automatic disqualification of sellers with unpaid debts, while maintaining the state's right to collect those debts from the sale proceeds.
ELIGIBILITY
Removed the prohibition on transferring an alcohol license if the seller has outstanding taxes, penalties, or interest owed to the Department of Revenue.
FISCAL
Added a provision stating that proceeds from the sale of an alcohol license may be applied to any outstanding liens owed to the Department of Revenue.
REQUIREMENT
Updated references to MCA sections 16-4-404 and 16-6-303 to reflect the new subsection numbering for inventory transfer scenarios (changing references from (7)(8) to (7)(9)).
TIMELINE
Added a new section establishing an applicability date for the act regarding all future alcohol license transfers.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 12, 2025 · House Apr 1, 2025
How they voted
48–2
Passed
Total votes 50
Feb 12, 2025
D
Democratic18
88% Yea
R
Republican32
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
41
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Apr 17, 2025
Signed into law
(S) Signed by Governor
upper
Apr 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 1, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (97-1-2)
house
Mar 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Mar 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 12, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (48-2)
senate
Feb 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
upper
Feb 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
upper
Jan 30, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
upper
Jan 29, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Wylie Galt
RRepublican
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