Sen. Chris Pope

Maddy summarySB 188 establishes Montana's "Solar Shares Act," creating a new framework for shared solar energy programs. It defines "shared solar facilities" (50kW-5MW systems serving multiple customers in the same utility area) and requires utilities to interconnect them, replacing net metering with "on-bill credits" for subscribing customers. Key provisions include: utilities must apply credits to subscribers' bills based on their share of generation, facilities must be within the utility's service territory, and credits can transfer between accounts or support low-income programs. The bill directly affects public utilities, shared solar facility owners, and residential/commercial customers who subscribe to shared solar.

Maddy summarySB 521 directs Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services and Office of Public Instruction to create a plan expanding mental health education to all public schools. The plan must include specific elements like curriculum design, funding support strategies, data collection methods, and cost estimates for addressing issues like bullying, suicide, and substance use. All public schools in Montana would be directly affected if the plan is implemented. The bill requires progress reports by September 2025 and a final plan by May 2026. It mandates the development of a roadmap but does not provide immediate funding or require schools to adopt the program.

Maddy summarySB 523, introduced by Senator C. Pope, proposed requiring Medicaid contracts with non-physician providers (like clinics or therapists) to include annual cost-of-living adjustments tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' medical care CPI. This would have mandated that reimbursement rates for these providers increase each year by the same percentage as the medical care inflation rate, rather than relying on fixed formulas. The bill would have applied specifically to non-physician Medicaid service providers, aiming to keep their payments aligned with inflation. However, the bill "died in process" on May 23, 2025, and did not become law.

Maddy summarySB 406 would require Montana's investor-owned utilities to implement energy conservation programs achieving at least 1% of their average annual electricity sales in savings by 2026. Utilities must conduct biennial assessments to identify cost-effective conservation opportunities (like efficient appliances, lighting, and grid improvements) and submit plans for commission approval. The law mandates that programs be funded through customer rates, with utilities allowed to recover costs and share in rewards for successful conservation investments. It aims to reduce peak electricity demand, improve grid reliability, and defer costly infrastructure investments without specifying outcomes.

Maddy summarySB 513 requires Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services to expand the Family Education and Support Services Program by July 1, 2026, to serve all qualified families applying to the program - matching the FY2016 service level. The bill mandates annual reports to the legislature detailing program benefits, how families prepare for future healthcare programs, and comparisons between served and unserved families. It takes effect July 1, 2025, and terminates June 30, 2027. This bill directly affects families applying to the program and the state agency administering it.

Maddy summarySB 445, "Montana Transparency in Energy Economics Act," would have required investor-owned utilities to create a public energy dashboard by June 2026 showing real-time data on power sources, grid contributions, and costs per megawatt hour. Public utilities would have needed to provide quarterly reports detailing power sources (like coal, wind, solar), consumption by customer class, and costs. The bill directly affects residential and small commercial customers (defined as using ~750 kWh monthly) by making energy billing costs more visible. However, the bill died in committee on May 23, 2025, and never became law.

Maddy summarySB 522 aimed to reduce or eliminate waiting lists for Medicaid-covered services in Montana by requiring the Department of Health to implement funding changes, apply for federal waivers, and prioritize services like senior care, behavioral health, and dental care. It mandated annual reports tracking waiting list sizes, ongoing efforts to address them, and projected elimination dates. The bill died in committee on May 23, 2025, without becoming law. It did not alter existing Medicaid eligibility but focused on administrative and programmatic solutions to service access delays.