HB 156 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise education funding laws by replacing school district BASE levies with countywide BASE levies

HB 156 revises public education funding by replacing individual school district property tax levies for base budgets with a single countywide property tax levy. This new countywide levy, supported by state aid, will fund the basic operating expenses for all school districts within a county. The bill also adjusts state guaranteed tax base aid from a district to a county level and reduces required tuition payments. These changes impact school districts, local taxpayers, and revise the duties of school and county officials regarding education funding.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Jan 9, 2025 Signed May 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0156_3(18).pdf → HB0156_X.pdf · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends the Montana Code Annotated to revise school funding laws by replacing the district-based guaranteed tax base aid with a new countywide levy system. It also updates legal procedures for paying property taxes under protest and clarifies how remitted urban renewal tax increments must be used by school districts.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of school funding by shifting from a district-specific guaranteed tax base to a countywide levy, thereby altering how funding is calculated and distributed across districts.

FISCAL

Replaced the district-based guaranteed tax base aid with a new countywide levy to support school district base budgets.

Revised the duties of trustees, district clerks, county superintendents, and county treasurers to align with the new countywide levy structure.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the requirements for remitting unused portions of urban renewal district tax increments, specifying how funds must be deposited or used to reduce property taxes.

Amended the rules for paying property taxes under protest, including reporting grounds for protest and handling installment payments.

TECHNICAL

Removed references to repealed sections of the Montana Code Annotated, specifically Section 15-1-409.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 4, 2025 · House Apr 11, 2025

How they voted

46–3

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 50

Apr 4, 2025

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican32

28 Yea 3 Nay 1

87% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 5, 2025

Signed into law

(H) Signed by Governor

lower

Apr 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Signed by President

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Signed by Speaker

lower

Apr 11, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (96-1-3)

house

Apr 4, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (46-3-1)

senate

Apr 4, 2025

Introduced

(S) Returned to House with Amendments

upper

Apr 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Education and Cultural Resources

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Education and Cultural Resources

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Education

lower

Jan 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Education

lower

Jan 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Education

lower

Jan 10, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Education

lower

Jan 9, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors