SB 565 Montana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Creating the Montana endowment for early childhood and related structure

SB 565 creates a permanent Montana Endowment for Early Childhood, funded by quarterly state transfers and fees from renewed childcare facility licenses. It establishes a 7-member board (including state agency staff and community representatives) to manage the endowment and allocate funds from the Montana Early Childhood Account. The bill directs funds toward grants for childcare workforce development, quality improvements (like safety upgrades), affordability programs (including subsidies), and emergency assistance for childcare providers. These funds directly support early childhood programs, providers, and families accessing childcare services across Montana.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 31, 2025 Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC1092.pdf SB0565_1.pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill text was updated to reflect its official Senate Bill number (SB 565) instead of the original Legislative Committee number (LC 1092). A new requirement was added to mandate that the board monitor how organizations spend the grant funds, enhancing oversight of the program.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on the Montana Endowment for Early Childhood, but the applicability of the board's duties is now explicitly expanded to include monitoring fund expenditures.
TECHNICAL

Updated header and page footers to change the bill identifier from LC 1092 to SB 565.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new provision requiring the board to monitor the expenditure of funds by organizations receiving grants.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 5, 2025

How they voted

2620
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 50
Apr 5, 2025
D Democratic18
16 Yea 2
88% Yea
R Republican32
10 Yea 20 Nay 2
62% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
34
Key actions
3
Committee
5
Amendments
2
Apr 17, 2025
Amended
(H) Tabled in Committee - (H) Human Services
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Human Services
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (26-20-4)
senate
Apr 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 5, 2025
Committee
(S) Rereferred to Committee - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Apr 1, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Mar 31, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Laura Smith
Laura Smith
DDemocratic
MT
40