Legislative Week in Review

February 3-7, 2025

Going viral; first round of budget work wrapped; revamped school funding interim commission exhumed; controversial policy bills advance; students for the W.

As the 69th Montana Legislature’s Week 5 grinds to a frigid and snowy conclusion, a new constituent group has invaded the Capitol. They appeared without a permit or lobbyist credentials, hold disruptive rallies every day, access unauthorized spaces, and don’t appear threatened by Capitol security. They are germs. The petri dish under the copper dome is practically vibrating with high activity. Fortunately, OCHE staff who frequent the building fighting the good fight on behalf of the MUS are seemingly unscathed.

Budget and Planning

Section E, HB 2

On Monday and Tuesday, OCHE staff met with the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Section E to answer any remaining questions regarding the budget and for brief work sessions.

The Subcommittee’s interest in Dual Enrollment and the MUS One-Two-Free program drove some of the discussion. Last week, Subcommittee Chair Bedey requested cost estimates for maintaining One-Two-Free for MUS campuses, as well as estimated costs of extending the program to Community Colleges and to Tribal Colleges. Program material OCHE distributed to the Subcommittee included the following data.

During last week’s hearings, the Montana Graduate Medical Education Council (GME) appeared before the Subcommittee to highlight the need for more physicians, particularly in rural counties, and request additional funding. GME noted that since 2013, Montana residency slots have grown from 24 to 97, and the council expects resident physicians training in Montana to grow to 127. GME asked that $700,000 for the biennium be added to the budget accommodate those anticipated increases.

Amendments that reflect all three One-Two-Free options and additional funding for GME are among those the Subcommittee directed its staff to draft for executive action, planned for the third week of February.

Fact sheets distributed to the Subcommittee at members’ request include MUS Federal Grant Access Programs, One-Two-Free, and GME’s funding request. The fact sheets are posted on OCHE’s Government Relations and Communications website.

Section F, HB 5
The Section F Long-Range Planning Subcommittee held a work session on Friday to ask questions and comb through all the state’s proposed capital and maintenance projects. HB 5 and HB 10, the Long-range technology appropriations proposal, remain in the Section F Subcommittee awaiting executive action. The MUS projects, which are also available on OCHE's Government Relations and Communications website, are unchanged.

Still On the Radar

HB 13 – State employee pay plan
Sponsored by Rep. John Fitzpatrick (R-Anaconda), HB 13 would:

• increase the base pay of each employee by $1 an hour or by 2.5%, whichever is greater, each year of the 2027 biennium;
• provide for travel reimbursement at 70% of the standard federal reimbursement rate; and
• increase employer contribution benefits by $26 a month the first year of the biennium and $53 the second year.

The pay plan, now in the Senate, has not yet been assigned to a committee.

HB 121 – Provide privacy in certain restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crow (R-Billings), seeks to require "covered entities" to "designate each multi-occupancy restroom, changing room, or sleeping quarters for the exclusive use of females or males." In the bill, a covered entity is considered to be a correctional center, a juvenile detention facility, a local domestic violence program, a public building, or a public school. The bill provides that a person may bring a private cause of action against a covered entity that has not complied with the requirements if the person encounters another individual of the opposite sex in the restroom or changing room.

Senate Judiciary heard HB 121 last week and on Wednesday, approved its advancement to the Senate floor with a 6-3 vote. The Senate is scheduled to debate HB 121 on February 10.

HB 153 - Revise laws related to the school funding interim commission
Careful readers may recall this measure to be among those categorized last week as not-dead-but-not-looking-good. This week, House Education breathed new life into the proposal with amendments and a unanimous vote to send it to the House floor.

Sponsored by Rep. David Bedey (R-Hamilton), HB 153 would change the membership of the statutory School Funding Interim Commission to include the chair of the Board of Regents or a designee, as well as additional gubernatorial appointees. The bill would also create as part of the study an "innovation and excellence in education working group to develop recommendations, objectives, and an implementation plan ... to improve the basic system of free, quality, public elementary and secondary schools.”

The amendments altered the makeup of the 17-member committee, specifying inclusion of several legislative members who serve on standing and interim education-related committees. The BOR's participation remains inthe bill.

HB 300 - Generally revise laws related to discrimination in education
HB 300, sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crow (R-Billings), would make it an unlawful discriminatory practice "for an educational institution to allow a male person to participate in athletic programs designated for female persons.” It would also be considered an unlawful discriminatory practice for an educational institution to “fail to provide a person with access to a restroom, locker room, shower area, or sleeping quarter that is inaccessible by a person of the opposite sex while in use.”

Since its initial hearing last week, HB 300 has passed out of House Judiciary, 12-8, and passed its final vote in the House, 57-42. OCHE was among the opponents in House Judiciary with testimony that enactment of the bill would create a conflict between state law and NCAA policy, putting the MUS at risk of fines or ineligibility to host playoff games.

On Wednesday, President Trump signed the “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” executive order, and the NCAA quickly amended its regulations to comply. BOR policy 1202.1 requires that each MUS campus comply with NCAA and NAIA regulations. Considering these developments, if HB 300 becomes law, it would no longer pose a technical conflict with NCAA regulations.

SJ 7 - Joint resolution to support shooting competition as a collegiate sport
Sponsored by Sen. John Fuller (R-Kalispell), SJ 7 would encourage the Board of Regents and the units of the MUS to adopt and facilitate shooting sports competitions as collegiate sports, to partner with nonuniversity personnel and entities to facilitate shooting sports competitions as collegiate sports, and to develop endowments and offer scholarships for enrolled students competing in shooting sports.

On Friday, the House Education Committee voted to send the resolution to the Senate floor.

Seen not Heard

HB 282 - Revise tuition waiver laws for American Indian students
HB 282, sponsored by Rep. Tyson Running Wolf (D-Browning), would revise the American Indian student tuition and fee waiver statute to include persons who are “descendants of a federally recognized Indian tribe” located in Montana and would require that in order for a descendant to be eligible, a certification process must be adopted by the tribe and a copy of the certificate provided to the MUS.

The House Education Committee has not set a hearing date for the bill.

HB 284 – Establish an interim committee to investigate civil rights violations and censorship within the MUS
HB 284, sponsored by Rep. Caleb Hinkle (R-Belgrade), proposes to create an interim committee to “investigate civil rights violations and acts of censorship committed by the Montana University System.” The committee would “gather testimony on the record from Montana students on any civil rights violations or acts of censorship that the students have experienced or witnessed at Montana public universities and colleges and make findings and recommendations for state and federal officials.” Committee membership would consist of six legislators, one from each house being from the minority party. HB 284 seeks an appropriation of $13,500 from the state general fund for expenses.

A hearing is scheduled in the House Judiciary Committee on February 13.

HB 400 – Enact the "Free to Speak" act
This week, Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-Columbia Falls) introduced HB 400 which would apply to all public school students and staff, including those at postsecondary institutions. The bill provides that a student or employee may not be disciplined and the state may not take an adverse action against a student or employee for declining to:

• identify a person's pronouns; or
• address a person by using a name other than the person's legal name or a derivative of the person's legal name or by using a pronoun or a title that is inconsistent with the person's sex.  

A hearing in House Judiciary is set for February 14.

SB 271 – Remove prohibition on certain compensation for collegiate student-athlete's name/image/likeness
Sen. Ellie Boldman introduced SB 271 to remove the prohibition on a postsecondary institution or athletic association, conference, or organization with authority over intercollegiate sports from providing a prospective or current student athlete compensation for use of the athlete's name, image, or likeness.

Senate Education and Cultural Resources will hear the bill on February 11.

Students for the Win

SB 210 – Revise board of regents laws to remove statutory requirement for student regent
On Tuesday, after the Do Pass motion failed on a decisive 10-4 bipartisan vote, the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee tabled SB 210. The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller (R-Kalispell), sought to remove the statutory language requiring appointment of a student regent to the BOR.

During the discussion, Sen. Sue Vinton (R-Billings) praised the student lobbyists who had discussed the bill with her, calling the conversations thoughtful and very persuasive. Countering the argument that students should not be making decisions on such a large budget, Sen. Forrest Mandeville (R-Columbus) noted that many university students are old enough to be elected to the legislature, serve on a budget committee, and vote on the entire state budget. Senators Susan Webber (D-Browning) and Jacinda Morigeau (D-Arlee) commented that the student representatives who serve on the board are adults who are respected and focused on the future.

Time Served

Legislative Day: 25
Percent Complete: 27.78%