Housing

House Bill 647 proposes to prohibit nonprofit organizations from leasing state lands or timber. The bill directly affects nonprofit organizations and the state entities responsible for managing state trust lands. It amends several existing state statutes to make it unlawful for any official or employee of a nonprofit organization to lease state lands or timber on behalf of their organization. This change would restrict the state board's authority to lease state trust lands for commercial or other purposes to nonprofits.

This bill (LC 1313) aimed to revise state laws governing conservation easements - legal agreements that protect land from development. It would have directly affected landowners, farmers, conservation groups, and local governments by altering how easements are created, managed, and enforced. The proposed changes included updated requirements for easement documentation and new oversight processes for land conservation projects. However, the bill never advanced beyond the drafting stage, as it was placed on hold and ultimately died in the legislative process in May 2025. No policy changes were enacted.

HB 524 aimed to remove boardinghouses and roominghouses from certain state public health and safety requirements currently applied to hotels and motels. The bill proposed revising definitions within the Montana Code Annotated to exempt these types of residential establishments from those specific lodging regulations. This change would alter the regulatory oversight for operators of boardinghouses and roominghouses, distinguishing them from other commercial lodging facilities.

SB 149 revises laws regarding emotional support animals (ESAs) in housing, affecting tenants with disabilities and landlords. The bill allows landlords to request specific documentation from a licensed health care practitioner if a tenant's need for an ESA is not readily apparent. This documentation must come from a practitioner with an established client-provider relationship who has conducted a clinical evaluation and identified the specific therapeutic support the animal provides. The bill also clarifies that ESA registration cards alone are not sufficient proof and holds tenants liable for damages caused by their emotional support animals.