Rep. Scott DeMarois

Maddy summaryHB 511 creates a $5 million grant program to fund firefighting training facility projects for local fire departments in Montana. The bill provides grants for building, upgrading, or repairing training facilities and purchasing equipment, with limits of $250,000 per project and $500,000 per county. Applicants must provide a 1% cash or service match for grants over $25,000 and follow safety standards, while the Department of Military Affairs administers the program. Funding is authorized for the 2025-2029 biennium and expires June 30, 2031.

Maddy summaryHouse Joint Resolution 75 (HJ 75) requested an interim study of the Montana State Hospital and related patient-focused issues. The study aimed to explore ways to refurbish the hospital to focus on forensic and serious civil commitments, and identify how to increase community support for patients transitioning out of the facility. It also sought to assess existing community programs, identify new support needs, and explore alternatives for court-ordered fitness evaluations outside the hospital. The study would project bed space needs at the hospital versus the cost of developing community-based alternatives, with its final results to be reported to the 70th Legislature.

Maddy summaryHB 547 aimed to revise laws concerning fire protection within consolidated city-county governments. It proposed removing existing statutory language that explicitly protected the independent existence, rights, and duties of volunteer fire departments and fire districts when a city and county consolidate. The bill also sought to repeal sections of law that stated these volunteer organizations are not affected by city-county consolidation. This would have altered the legal framework governing how volunteer fire services operate within consolidated jurisdictions.

Maddy summaryHB 611 revises the process for determining the salaries of several elected state officials in Montana, including the Governor, Attorney General, and State Auditor. The Department of Administration is required to conduct a biennial salary survey comparing these officials' salaries to those in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho. If the average salary from the surveyed states is higher, that average will become the new salary for the Montana official, effective July 1 of the following year. This bill also clarifies that the State Auditor serves as the ex officio Commissioner of Insurance and Securities, with the salary changes for the State Auditor taking effect on January 1, 2028.