Rep. Kelly Kortum

Maddy summaryHB 508 aimed to establish media literacy as a legislative goal for Montana's public elementary and secondary schools. The bill proposed amending state law to include strengthening media literacy within the state's educational objectives. This would involve teaching students to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using various forms of communication. Additionally, it sought to help students reduce their susceptibility to disinformation, misinformation, propaganda, and indoctrination. The overall goal was to integrate these media literacy skills into the learning environment for all public school students.

Maddy summaryHB 484 proposed to increase the state's minimum hourly wage from $6.15 to $12.06, affecting many hourly workers and their employers. The bill maintained the existing mechanism for annual cost-of-living adjustments to the minimum wage. It also retained a lower minimum wage of $4 per hour for businesses with annual gross sales of $110,000 or less. If enacted, these provisions would have become effective on July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 204, titled "Revise gambling laws related gambling addiction," sought to update state gambling regulations. The bill required that all video gambling machines display information about gambling addiction, including contact details for support organizations. This information would need to be placed on the front of the machine, clearly visible and legible to users. Machines that did not comply with this requirement would not be permitted for public use, with the changes applying starting October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 311 requires landlords and property managers to refund residential rental application fees to applicants who do not ultimately sign a rental agreement. Landlords may deduct costs for specific services actually performed, such as a credit check, if the applicant was given written notice of these allocated costs when the fee was collected. However, they cannot retain fees for services not performed or for their own time. If an application fee is wrongfully withheld, an applicant can take civil action to recover the amount, with potential for attorney fees.

Maddy summaryHB 157 revises Montana's responsible server and sales training requirements for alcohol service. It mandates two distinct training programs: one for employees at locations allowing on-premises consumption (like bars), and a shorter program (half the duration) for employees at locations only providing off-premises consumption (like liquor stores). Both programs must cover alcohol effects, ID verification, handling intoxicated patrons, and liability procedures, ending with a final test and certificate. The law, signed by the Governor on April 7, 2025, directly affects licensed alcohol businesses and their staff across Montana.