Prohibit the sale of lab-grown meat in the state of Montana
HB 401 prohibits the manufacture, sale, holding, offering for sale, or distribution of "cell-cultured edible product" within Montana. This refers to meat produced via cell culture rather than from a slaughtered animal. The bill directly affects consumers by preventing access to these products and businesses by making such activities unlawful. Violations can lead to misdemeanor charges for individuals, including imprisonment, and disciplinary actions or license suspensions for retail food establishments. The department is also given authority to adopt rules to implement this prohibition.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 5, 2025
Signed May 5, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
HB0401_2(13).pdf
→
HB0401_X.pdf
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from HB 401.2 to HB 401 and updated to reflect its final enrolled status. The core policy content remains largely consistent, but the text was cleaned up to remove redundant sections and correct cross-references to ensure clarity in the final legal text.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; it continues to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cell-cultured edible products in Montana.
TECHNICAL
The bill number was changed from HB 401.2 to HB 401 to reflect its final version.
Redundant introductory text and duplicate section headers were removed to streamline the document.
Internal cross-references were updated to point to the correct section numbers in the final version.
Floor votes · Senate Apr 14, 2025 · House Mar 6, 2025
How they voted
34–14
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 50
Apr 14, 2025
D
Democratic18
50% Nay
R
Republican32
81% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
49
Key actions
9
Committee
6
May 1, 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 14, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (34-14-2)
senate
Apr 2, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation
upper
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation
upper
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation
upper
Mar 6, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (64-35-1)
house
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Agriculture
lower
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Agriculture
lower
Feb 6, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Agriculture
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Braxton Mitchell
RRepublican
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