This bill requires Montana's state treasurer to transfer all unspent funds from the state's "debt and liability free account" into the "coal severance tax permanent fund" within 10 days of the bill's effective date. The transfer applies only to unobligated and unexpended money in the debt-free account, as defined in existing law. If another bill (SB 90) fails to pass, the transfer would instead go to the "Montana school facilities fund" instead. The bill appropriates $100 from the general fund to cover implementation costs for the 2025-2027 biennium. It takes effect immediately upon approval.
HB 945 aimed to establish the Early Childhood Education and Child Care Infrastructure Grant Program in Montana. This program would have provided up to $10 million in grants to licensed child care facilities and school districts across the state. The grants were intended to fund capital expenses, such as property acquisition, construction, renovation, and equipment purchases, to create new or expand existing child care programs. Recipients of grants $50,000 or more would have been required to provide matching funds or in-kind contributions. The bill also set limits on the maximum funding per county and per individual project.
HB 457 aimed to modify the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship Program. It proposed changing the family income eligibility requirement from a minimum of 185% of the federal poverty level to 85% of the state median income for each family size. Additionally, the bill sought to appropriate $17 million annually from the general fund to the Department of Public Health and Human Services for the program for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025.
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.
HB 771 aimed to revise university housing policies for the Montana University System. It would have prevented universities from requiring students to live on campus if they live with an immediate family member whose principal residence is within a one-hour drive of the campus. Students could be required to submit a form confirming their off-campus residence with a parent, guardian, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or adult sibling. Universities would have had two business days to approve or deny such requests, provided the student met the specified conditions.
HB 385 proposed establishing the School Mental Health Promotion Pilot Program, administered by the Office of Public Instruction. This program would have provided grants to Montana school districts to implement innovative, student-led, and locally determined initiatives aimed at improving student mental health. Districts applying for grants would have needed to demonstrate specific needs, broad community support in their application development, and plans for mental health promotion activities and program evaluation. The bill proposed annual grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 for a two-year period, with $250,000 appropriated annually from the general fund. The program was set to terminate on June 30, 2029.
This bill creates the Montana Behavioral Health Trust Fund to provide dedicated funding for mental health and substance use services. It establishes a seven-member board (appointed by the governor, legislative leaders, and tribal representatives) to manage the fund, which receives quarterly interest from a permanent endowment (preserving the principal). Funds will support specific services like school-based mental health programs, crisis care, counselors in homeless shelters, transitional housing, and facility expansions - directly benefiting community organizations and public health services. The bill mandates that funds cannot replace existing state funding and requires the board to develop a state plan and monitor program effectiveness.
This bill (LC 958) authorizes a specific transfer of funds between two state education accounts to prevent funding cuts for public schools. It directs the state treasurer to move excess money from the School Facility and Technology Account to the School Major Maintenance Aid Account if the first account has sufficient funds to cover debt service without proration (funding cuts) and transferring funds would avoid proration in the second account. This directly affects Montana public schools that rely on these state funding streams for facility maintenance and technology. The provision ensures schools receive full funding by strategically reallocating existing resources within the state budget structure.
This joint resolution (LC 2785) requests an interim study to examine how Montana can better utilize school counselors to improve student outcomes. It directs the Legislative Council to form a committee to investigate counselor shortages, current student-counselor ratios, and effective practices used in other states. The committee must collaborate with school counselors, the Board of Public Education, and advocacy groups, and report findings to the 70th Legislature by September 2026. The study focuses on strengthening school counseling programs without making immediate policy changes.
This bill (LC 1288) removes the ability of family day-care, group day-care, and registered family/friend/neighbor (FFN) providers in Montana to refuse enrollment to children with medical or religious vaccine exemptions. It directly affects day-care providers and children whose families hold such exemptions. The bill amends state regulations (ARM 37.95.805) to require providers to enroll all children regardless of exemption status, eliminating their current option to decline enrollment. The change applies to all providers covered under the regulation, with a $500 appropriation to notify providers of the amendment.
