SB 537 Montana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Generally revise marijuana tax laws

SB 537 revises Montana's marijuana tax revenue distribution, directing funds from the marijuana state special revenue account to new and existing state accounts. It requires transferring excess funds annually to specific accounts, including 12% to the HEART account for addiction treatment and mental health programs, 20% to wildlife habitat projects, and 14% to behavioral health initiatives. The bill also allocates funds for law enforcement canine training, sexual assault evidence kits, and homeless shelter support, while modifying existing transfer rules for agencies like the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. These changes apply to all state agencies receiving marijuana tax revenue under Montana law.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Vetoed
Jul 2025
Introduced Mar 24, 2025 Vetoed Jul 11, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB0537_X(3).pdf SB0537_X(4).pdf · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to reorganize the title and clarify that homeless shelter support is a primary funding goal alongside law enforcement and addiction treatment. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new funding stream directing 1.5% of account revenues to the Department of Justice specifically for sexual assault forensic examinations and evidence kits. Additionally, the bill was updated to include crisis, treatment, and recovery services for substance use and mental health disorders as eligible uses of funds.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded to explicitly include sexual assault forensic services and broadened eligible fund usage to include crisis and recovery services for mental health and substance use disorders.
FISCAL

A new allocation of 1.5% of account funds was added to support sexual assault forensic examinations and evidence kits.

Eligible fund usage was expanded to include crisis, treatment, and recovery services for substance use and mental health disorders.

SCOPE

The bill title was revised to better reflect the inclusion of homeless shelter support as a core objective.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and punctuation adjustments were made to the list of amended statutes and fund distribution percentages.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 29, 2025 · House Apr 25, 2025

How they voted

428
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 29, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
24 Yea 8 Nay
75% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
63
Key actions
12
Committee
12
Amendments
1
Jul 11, 2025
Vetoed
(S) Veto Override
upper
Jun 11, 2025
Vetoed
(S) Veto Override Vote in Progress
upper
Jun 6, 2025
Vetoed
(S) Vetoed by Governor
upper
May 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
May 21, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 29, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (42-8)
senate
Apr 25, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (74-26)
house
Apr 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Returned to Senate with Amendments
lower
Apr 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Appropriations
lower
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Appropriations
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Committee
(H) Rereferred to Committee - (H) Appropriations
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Taxation
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Taxation
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Taxation
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 5, 2025
Committee
(S) Rereferred to Committee - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 25, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 24, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Daniel Zolnikov
Daniel Zolnikov
RRepublican
MT
22