House Bill 361 sought to establish state funding for school districts serving English language learners and provide professional stipends for their teachers. It proposed state matching funds for public school districts that receive federal subgrants for programs supporting students with limited English proficiency. The bill also aimed to provide annual stipends of up to $500 for qualified teachers holding specific certifications in English as a Second Language or culturally and linguistically diverse education. Teachers meeting these qualifications and working in high-poverty or impacted schools could receive an enhanced stipend of up to $1,000, with both the state and school districts contributing to these payments.
SB 37 revises school funding laws by clarifying how significant enrollment increases are calculated for state aid payments. The bill specifies that these calculations must be made separately for each budget unit within a school district. A district becomes eligible for additional funding if its current October enrollment count, converted to ANB, exceeds its budget limit ANB from three years prior by 110% or more. The Superintendent of Public Instruction determines the payment amount, which districts can accept fully or partially to address costs associated with the enrollment growth.
HB 3 is a funding bill that allocates specific amounts to Montana state agencies for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and continues some funding into the 2025-2026 biennium. It provides $22.2 million to the Public Health and Human Services Division, $12.5 million to the State Public Defender's Conflict Division, $4.07 million to the Montana Highway Patrol, and other sums to agencies like Revenue, Corrections, and Fish and Wildlife. The bill directs these funds for existing agency operations, with unspent balances reverting to their respective funds. It became law immediately upon the governor's signature on April 7, 2025, without requiring additional legislative action. This is a routine budget measure affecting state agency operations, not a policy change impacting citizens.
HB 870 proposed to allocate surplus state revenues. It aimed to provide a one-time-only appropriation of $120,000 from the general fund to the Department of Justice. This funding was intended to address recruitment and retention challenges at the Montana State Crime Lab. The appropriation was designated for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026, with any unexpended funds reverting to the general fund.
House Resolution 7 (HR 7) requests that members of the Montana State Legislature, when introducing or amending bills to include new spending, also identify existing programs from which funds would be reallocated to cover those new appropriations. This means any bill proposing new expenditures would need to specify how those funds would be offset within the state budget.
HB 373 aimed to revise the allocation of excess state lottery revenue, dedicating it to education funding instead of the state general fund. The Office of Public Instruction would distribute these funds quarterly to school districts based on a per-quality-educator formula. Districts would deposit these funds into their school flexibility funds, which could be used for various expenditures, including teacher salaries, benefits, housing, technology enhancements, and facility improvements.
This bill allows property owners to apply for a refund of their property taxes if their local government (city, county, or consolidated city-county) fails to enforce laws against specific public nuisances like illegal camping, public drinking, or panhandling, and the owner incurs documented costs to mitigate these issues on their property. The refund amount equals the documented mitigation expenses, but cannot exceed the owner’s prior year’s property tax payment to the local government. The state department of revenue processes applications, requiring local governments to accept or reject refunds within 30 days; rejections can be challenged in court, where the government bears the burden of proof. Refunds are paid from the state general fund and deducted from the local government’s future entitlement share payments.
This bill creates the Montana Growth and Opportunity Trust to manage volatile state tax revenue. It requires annual transfers of half of unpredictable tax revenue (like capital gains) into the trust starting in 2027. The trust’s interest earnings are split: half funds five specific state accounts (disaster relief, property tax relief, water development, bridge repairs, and early childhood programs), each receiving up to $15 million yearly, while the other half is reinvested into pension funds and housing infrastructure loans. The bill directly affects state budget operations and provides dedicated funding streams for local government services, housing, and early childhood programs.
This bill proposes replacing school property taxes with a statewide sales tax. It would create a general sales tax across Montana, with all revenue directed to the School Equalization and Property Tax Reduction Account to fund public schools. The bill repeals existing property tax mill levies for schools and allows certain sales tax exemptions while requiring out-of-state retailers to collect the tax. Homeowners would no longer pay school property taxes, and schools would receive funding through this new sales tax system instead of local property levies.
This resolution requires Montana legislators to identify specific existing programs whose funding will be reduced when introducing bills that include new spending. If a bill proposes new expenditures, it must specify which current programs will have funds reallocated to cover the cost, rather than adding new spending without offsetting cuts. The resolution is procedural - it doesn’t change actual budgets but sets a rule for how bills are drafted to promote fiscal accountability. It applies to all House bills containing new appropriations, aiming to ensure every new spending request includes a clear funding source within the same bill.
