HB 249 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Include digital identifications in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana laws

HB 249 allows businesses selling alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana to accept digital versions of government-issued IDs (like phone-based licenses) for age verification. It directly affects retailers in these industries and customers using digital IDs. The bill requires businesses to handle digital ID data strictly: they may not sell or transfer the data and must permanently delete it within 180 days after use. These rules apply to all age-restricted sales, including tobacco products under Section 16-11-305 and marijuana transactions under Section 16-12-104.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Signed Apr 7, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0249_X(1).pdf HB0249_X(2).pdf · 1 edit
MINOR
The bill text was updated to remove a line break or formatting artifact in the list of amended statutes, ensuring the legal citation for Section 16-12-104 appears as a single continuous line. This change is purely technical and does not alter the bill's substantive policy, scope, or legal effect.
TECHNICAL

Removed an unnecessary line break in the title to improve the formatting of the list of amended sections.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 24, 2025 · House Feb 3, 2025

How they voted

464
Passed
Total votes 50
Mar 24, 2025
D Democratic18
17 Yea 1 Nay
94% Yea
R Republican32
29 Yea 3 Nay
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
37
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Apr 7, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Mar 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (46-4)
senate
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Energy, Technology & Federal Relations
upper
Mar 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Energy, Technology & Federal Relations
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Energy, Technology & Federal Relations
upper
Feb 3, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (86-13-1)
house
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Jan 20, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Braxton Mitchell
Braxton Mitchell
RRepublican
MT
5