HB 67 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Generally revise laws related to the administration of TRS

HB 67 revises and clarifies administrative and tax qualification provisions for the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). The bill directly affects TRS members, their employers, and beneficiaries by updating regulations for employer reporting duties, elective membership deferral, and the purchase of deferred elective service. It also revises mandatory distribution rules to conform with federal law and clarifies disability retirement allowance calculations. Additionally, the bill provides updated definitions for terms used within the TRS, such as "earned compensation."

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2024

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Dec 12, 2024 Signed Apr 17, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0067_1(7).pdf → HB0067_X.pdf · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill updates the official definitions for the Montana Teachers' Retirement System to align with federal tax laws and clarify administrative procedures. Key changes include expanding the list of entities considered an 'employer' to include community colleges and adding specific exclusions for certain benefits when calculating 'earned compensation'. These updates ensure the retirement system remains compliant with federal regulations and provides clearer guidance on what income counts toward retirement contributions.

Scope change

The scope of the 'employer' definition was expanded to explicitly include community colleges, broadening the system's applicability to additional educational institutions.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Average final compensation' to clarify how retirement benefits are calculated based on highest average earnings.

Added a new definition for 'Community college' to the list of entities classified as an 'employer' under the retirement system.

Expanded the list of excluded items from 'earned compensation' to include any similar form of maintenance, allowance, or expenses not previously listed.

Clarified rules regarding fringe benefits, specifying that adding benefits to a contract or paying cash in lieu of benefits at an employee's request counts as a fringe benefit rather than earned compensation.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 1, 2025 · House Jan 21, 2025

How they voted

32–18

Passed

Total votes 50

Apr 1, 2025

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican32

14 Yea 18 Nay

56% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 16, 2025

Signed into law

(H) Signed by Governor

lower

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Signed by President

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Signed by Speaker

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (32-18)

senate

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) State Administration

upper

Mar 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) State Administration

upper

Feb 18, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration

upper

Jan 21, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (97-1-2)

house

Jan 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Education

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Education

lower

Jan 15, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Education

lower

Dec 20, 2024

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Education

lower

Dec 12, 2024

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors