HB 93 sought to establish a system for compensating individuals who were wrongly convicted of felony crimes and later exonerated. It would allow eligible claimants, defined as those imprisoned for felonies they did not commit, to file a civil action against the state or county of conviction. To receive compensation, claimants would need to prove their actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence and waive other legal remedies against the state. The bill also provided for a $5,000 transition assistance grant, expungement of the conviction, and outlined how damages and legal costs would be paid, excluding compensation for crimes that are now legal.
HB 57 would amend Montana law to officially include California quail and Gambel's quail in the state's definition of "upland game birds" under Section 87-2-101, MCA. This change would directly affect hunters and wildlife managers by adding these quail species to the list of birds subject to regulated hunting seasons, bag limits, and conservation practices already applied to birds like pheasants and grouse. The bill specifically updates the legal definition without altering hunting seasons or regulations, ensuring these quail would be managed under existing upland game bird frameworks. The bill was introduced by request of the Environmental Quality Council but died in process on May 22, 2025.
HJ 68 is a procedural joint resolution requesting an interim study of Montana State Fund's Plan 3 workers' compensation insurance for state employees. The study would examine specific aspects like rates, class codes, discounts, and whether agents receive monetary incentives for selling these policies. It requires the committee to complete the study by September 15, 2026, and report findings to the 70th Legislature. This resolution does not change any laws but aims to review how the insurance program operates. (Note: The bill died in process on May 22, 2025, and did not become law.)
HB 758 aims to protect health benefit plan enrollees from balance billing for out-of-network ground ambulance services. It prohibits ambulance services from billing enrollees more than their in-network cost-sharing for covered transportation. The bill requires insurers to pay ambulance providers directly, caps out-of-pocket costs for these services at $100, and ensures these costs count towards deductibles. It also mandates that insurers reimburse ambulance services at established local rates or at least 400% of the Medicare rate if no contracted rate exists, and requires the state to create a public database of local ambulance rates.
HB 451 revises how tax increment financing (TIF) is calculated for newly established targeted economic development districts and urban renewal areas. For districts created after the bill's effective date, it excludes several specific mill levies from the tax increment calculation. These exclusions include certain university system mills, a portion of elementary, high school, and state equalization mills, new voter-approved levies, and mills for general obligation bond debt service. This means that a larger share of the new property tax revenue generated in these areas would directly go to the affected taxing jurisdictions, rather than into the TIF fund.
HB 255 revises Montana's data privacy rules for K-12 student records held by third-party educational technology providers (like apps or cloud services). It requires school districts to include specific privacy protections in contracts with these vendors, such as prohibiting the use of student data for targeted advertising, ensuring data security, and guaranteeing students or parents can access or correct their records. The bill also allows schools to adopt pre-approved model contracts from privacy-focused consortia to simplify compliance. These changes directly affect school districts, educational tech companies, and students whose data is stored or managed through digital platforms.
HB 546 would require that only legislative study groups with a majority of legislators can request new legislation. This applies to entities like committees, task forces, or councils (including the Montana Criminal Justice Oversight Council) that currently have non-legislator members. The bill’s key provision mandates that such groups must have at least half their members be legislators to formally ask for law changes. It does not alter the council’s duties or criminal justice policies, only the process for requesting legislative action. The bill died in committee in May 2025 and never became law.
HB 303 amends Montana's civil procedure law to clarify how fault is assigned in negligence cases involving multiple parties. The bill allows any party in a lawsuit to argue that a non-party (someone not named in the case) caused all injuries, without needing to seek fault apportionment from that non-party. It also specifies how courts must consider settlements or releases with other parties when calculating each defendant's share of responsibility. This directly affects plaintiffs, defendants, and third parties involved in personal injury, property damage, or product liability lawsuits. The changes aim to simplify fault allocation while ensuring released parties' roles are properly evaluated.
HB 674 proposes to update the responsibilities of Montana's Code Commissioner. It would add a new duty requiring the commissioner to recommend legislation that eliminates laws from the Montana Code that courts have found to be unconstitutional and permanently blocked from being enforced. This change aims to ensure the published code reflects only valid, enforceable statutes. It directly affects the Code Commissioner's review process and the accuracy of the official state legal code.
HB 925, the "Social Media Youth Protection Act," requires social media companies operating in Montana to implement systems that accurately identify minors (with 95% accuracy) and provide parental consent for data privacy settings. It mandates supervisory tools for minor account holders and restricts algorithmically curated services that use engagement-driven features like autoplay or endless scrolling. The bill directly affects social media companies and minors under 18, aiming to reduce excessive use linked to mental health risks by giving parents control over data and content exposure. Key provisions include age-assurance systems, parental consent for data privacy, and penalties for non-compliance, with definitions clarifying terms like "excessive use" and "algorithmically curated services."
HB 71 revises Montana hunting rules by allowing hunters to obtain more than one mountain lion license in a single license year, removing a previous restriction that limited hunters to one lion license per year. It also eliminates mandatory reporting requirements for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks regarding harvests and tissue sampling from the Tendoy mountain sheep herd. These changes directly affect hunters seeking mountain lion licenses and the wildlife department’s reporting obligations. The bill amends Section 87-2-702 of Montana law to reflect these policy adjustments, focusing on simplifying licensing and reducing administrative reporting burdens.
HB 212 limits liability for agricultural vehicles operated on Montana highways, directly affecting farmers, ranchers, and operators of specific farm equipment. The bill sets a $750,000 cap on damages per claim and $1.5 million per incident for owners, lessees, or operators of qualifying vehicles. It defines "agricultural vehicles" to include farm tractors, implements of husbandry, self-propelled farm equipment, and vehicles hauling hay or straw. Insurers remain liable for excess damages only if they provide written coverage beyond these limits.
