February 24-28, 2025

In the flood zone; speed dating; moving pieces; everything old is new again.

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good
No, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move

—McCoy, Kansas Joe & Minnie, Memphis. “When the Levee Breaks.” 1929; Zeppelin, Led. 1971

Between February 24 and February 27, members of the 69th Montana legislature introduced over 100 new bills to the mix of 1,412 measures that have been introduced since January 6. The figurative deluge occurred right on time, as it has every two years for decades, right before an introduction deadline and right before transmittal. Yet there always seems to be an air of surprise and furious scrambling when committees start meeting at 7:00 am, providing little public notice, limiting testimony, truncating debate, and phoning in food.

Dates are at the top of everyone’s mind (and not the fun kind with wine and cheese). The dates dictating  the workflow at this stage in the process are:

February 26: last day to introduce General Bills;
March 5: last day for committees to act on General Bills;
March 7: transmittal of General Bills to another chamber;
March 7: last day to request Appropriations Bills;
March 8-13:Transmittal Break; 
March 20: last day to introduce Appropriations Bills, Revenue Bills, and bills proposing Referenda.

The MUS Agenda

The legislative team at OCHE has reviewed and is tracking over 170 introduced bills and has flagged 527 introduced bills and draft requests to watch. Although February 26 was a major deadline that caused the latest rush, March 20 presents another wall for wannabe bills that have money associated with them or that seek to refer issues to the electorate.

Appropriations Bills key to the system and its operations are on on track.

HB 2
The House Appropriations Committee is likely to hold its hearings on HB 2 March 19-21.

HB 10
On Thursday, House Appropriations approved HB 10 (Long-range information technology appropriations) on a 21-2 vote. HB 10 appropriates just over $5 million to OCHE for CyberMontana (Security Operations Center, Workforce Training Programs, Cyber Policy Clinic), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), and Enterprise Resource Planning and System Replacement (a combined appropriation for Miles Community College, Dawson Community College, and Flathead Valley Community College).

HB 5
As the Section F Subcommittee amended it, HB 5 contains:

$66 million for MUS capital development projects;
$23.3 million for MUS major repairs/deferred maintenance; and
$119.8 million in spending authority for MUS projects.

The bill is awaiting its hearing in House Appropriations which has not yet been scheduled.

HB 13
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance and Claims Committee concurred in HB 13 (the state employee pay plan) on a 14-8 vote. Its next stop will be the Senate floor, likely to be scheduled after transmittal.

PolicyPalooza

Assorted policy bills aimed at the MUS or that would directly impact the system (in positive, potentially problematic, largely benign, and unknown ways) are circulating through the process. Some have made it to the next chamber, some have failed, been tabled, or been amended, and many will be acted on in the next few days and during daylong floor sessions next week.

Transmitted to Other Chamber

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 claims of civil rights violations and censorship from MUS students. 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.”

Since its introduction, HB 284 has been amended to increase the number of members from six to eight, require the membership to be split evenly by party, and increase the appropriation from $13,500  to $23,000. It still includes a Contingent Voidness clause which provides that if the funding is not appropriated, the bill is void.

The House has passed the bill and advanced it to the Senate where it has not yet been assigned to a committee.

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.”

HB 300 awaits debate on the Senate floor.

HB 400 – Enact the "Free to Speak" act
HB 400, sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-Columbia Falls), 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.  

HB 400 has passed the House and been transmitted to the Senate.

SB 271 - Remove prohibition on certain compensation for collegiate student-athlete's name/image/likeness
Sen. Ellie Boldman (D-Missoula) 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. Sen. Boldman brought the bill in the wake of the 2024 House v. NCAA Settlement.

SB 271 passed the Senate by a margin of 39-10 and has been referred to the House Education Committee, which has not yet scheduled a hearing.

In First Chamber

HB 618 – Provide for a Montana individual freedom act
In its introduced form, HB 618, sponsored by Rep. George Nikolakakos (R-Great Falls), proposes five sections of new law that would prohibit “state and local government agencies … from expending funds for memberships, goods, or services from organizations that discriminate and from expending funds on diversity, equity, and inclusion or on political or social activism.” The attorney general is tasked with review and approval of certain programs and activities.

The definition of “state or local government agency” specifically includes “university unit” and “college".

After a House State Administration Committee hearing on Wednesday, the sponsor requested extensive amendments that change the definition of DEI and introduce definitions of “divisive concepts”, 'race or sex scapegoating”, and “race or sex stereotyping”. The amendments also propose removal of the language prohibiting an agency from expending funds to purchase membership in or goods and services from any organization that discriminates. The amendments provide to the attorney general investigative and prosecutorial authority for alleged violations of the act.

The House State Administration Committee has not yet acted on the bill or the amendments but is likely to in the coming days.

HB 635 – Revise human rights laws to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs
Also sponsored by Rep. George Nikolakakos (R-Great Falls), HB 635 seeks to prohibit a state or local government agency from, among other things, spending public funds on a DEI program or employing an individual whose duties include creating or operating a DEI program.

During Executive Action on Friday morning, the House Judiciary Committee adopted amendments requested by the sponsor that mirror those proposed for HB 618 that define DEI, divisive concepts, race or sex scapegoating, and race or sex stereotyping and providing investigative authority to the attorney general. The amendments also include a right of private action and penalties.

House Judiciary passed the bill as amended and it will be scheduled for the House floor in the coming days.

HB 553 – Generally revise military higher education act
HB 553, sponsored by George Rep. George Nikolakakos (R-Great Falls), would require faculty of an institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of the BOR to give a student who is a member of a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces or the Montana National Guard at least 15 business days to make up a missed assignment, exam, midterm, or final if the student misses the work because of inactive duty training or annual training.

A proposed amendment, requested by Rep. Melissa Nikolakakos (R-Great Falls), would require the student to provide notice to the faculty prior to the absence.

The House Education Committee has not yet acted on the amendments or the bill.

HB 663 – Revise education laws related to diversity, equity, and inclusion
HB 663, sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe (R-Billings), would prohibit consideration of race, color, ethnicity, or national origin by institutions of higher education in hiring, admissions, participation, benefits, scholarships, and financial aid. It creates a private cause of action and compensatory damages, punitive damages, statutory damages, and injunctive and declaratory relief.

The sponsor has requested an amendment to strike the subsection of the bill that would prohibit an institution from revealing to admissions or financial aid officers data concerning the race, color, national origin, or ethnicity of any applicant or student before admissions and financial aid, scholarship, and funding decisions are made. The subsection the amendments propose to strike would also prohibit admissions and financial aid officers from acquiring the data.

The House Education Committee heard the bill on Friday afternoon and will likely act on it Friday evening or Monday afternoon.

Deja vu

SB 476 – Defining separation of powers
SB 476, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Emrich (R-Great Falls), would create new sections of the Montana Code Annotated to state that powers of the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Legislative Branch are those enumerated by the Constitution and granted by law. The language invokes the various articles of the Montana Constitution that vest the three branches of government with their powers, and it specifies that executive power includes the authority the Board of Regents and the Board of Public Education to perform duties “provided by law,” while proceeding to create new law that defines their powers.

The BOR’s Constitutional authority is clear and well-settled case law, as is the fact that it is an entity of the Executive Branch. SB 476, seemingly an ode to the Constitution, seeks to define differently in statute that which is enshrined in the Constitution and in that way evokes an image of a snake eating its own tail.

Despite the obvious substantive similarities to SB 44, which failed last month on the Senate floor, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-3 to give the idea another shot. The Senate will debate the bill (again) in the coming days.

Failure is an Option

SB 44 – Generally revise the separation of powers doctrine
See also: SB 476

SB 44 failed to pass 3rd Reading in the Senate on January 29 and was Indefinitely Postponed by the body.

SB 210 – Revise board of regents laws to remove statutory requirement for student regent
The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller (R-Kalispell), sought to remove the statutory language requiring appointment of a student regent to the BOR.

On February 4, the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee tabled SB 210 by a decisive margin.

Time Served

Legislative Day: 42
Percent complete: 46.67%