# Montana HB 112: Code commissioner bill Montana HB 112, Code commissioner bill, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-04-03 (Chapter Number Assigned); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB112-2025 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 112 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Code commissioner bill - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2024-12-26 - Last action: 2025-04-03, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Legislature - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 4 (293 yes, 5 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 19 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - One-time 2021 Montana tax rebate: benefit, high. You can get a one-time Montana income tax rebate based on your 2021 return. The rebate equals the smaller of your 2021 tax on line 20 or $1,250 ($2,500 if married filing jointly). You must have been a Montana resident all of 2021, filed 2020 and 2021 returns on time, not been claimed as a dependent… - Small-business tax break for school tech: benefit, high. Electing small business corporations can deduct the fair market value of a donated computer or similar equipment. The deduction cannot be more than 30% of the corporation’s net income. The gift must go to a Montana elementary, secondary, or accredited postsecondary school. Donate within five years… - Medicaid pays PAs and adds oversight: benefit, medium. Medicaid pays for services provided by physician assistants when the service is in their scope and covered by department rules. Before changing provider rates, waivers, or the state plan, the department must report the proposal and a 4‑year budget impact to three legislative committees. These steps… - Fewer court delays for equine plants: benefit, medium. Courts may not issue injunctions that stop or delay building a licensed equine slaughter or processing facility based on the listed challenges. If an injunction halts operations and the plaintiff loses the case, the plaintiff must pay the facility’s financial losses. - Easier slash burning in safe weather: benefit, low. If you have a fire hazard reduction agreement, you may burn slash without staying on site when conditions are safe. Safe means heavy rain or snow or wet fuels, no high wind warnings, and monitoring with at least one site visit to ensure containment. You must still follow burn rules and required not… - Montana creates in-state ABLE savings program: benefit, low. Montana creates an ABLE savings program under federal 529A. Eligible people with disabilities can open ABLE accounts at selected financial institutions. Money in these accounts helps pay for disability expenses. - Clear list of mental health professionals: benefit, low. The law lists who counts as a mental health professional under this part. It includes: a certified professional person under 53-21-106; a licensed physician; a licensed psychologist; an advanced practice registered nurse with a psychiatric specialty; and a licensed marriage and family therapist. - Local boards can authorize choice schools: benefit, low. Local school boards can apply to act as charter school authorizers within their district. The state commission must decide within 60 days. If approved, the board and commission must sign an authorizing contract within 30 days. The first contract lasts six years. A board cannot act as an authorizer… - No party cap on committee picks: benefit, low. Legislative leaders can appoint any mix of parties to the legislative consumer committee. The old one‑per‑party limit per house is removed. - Stronger state records and e-filing: benefit, low. The Department of Administration sets tech standards for electronic records systems and must approve agency purchases. Each agency must post a public staff directory for employees who regularly serve the public and check it at least twice a year. The Secretary of State must keep a federal‑compliant… - Spousal electronic messages stay private: benefit, low. Government bodies cannot force you, your spouse, or a service to disclose electronic messages sent to each other during marriage. You cannot be held in contempt for refusing to disclose them. This does not cover messages sent before marriage, after divorce, civil suits between spouses, or crimes by… - New bonds and rules for process servers: cost, high. If you serve legal papers more than 10 times a year, you must register with the state and may not call yourself a process server unless registered. After registering, you must keep a surety bond: $10,000 for an individual or $100,000 for a firm. If money is paid from your bond, you have 30 days to… - Only real co-ops can use cooperative: cost, low. The Secretary of State does not accept filings that use the word “cooperative” unless the business is a cooperative under listed Montana laws. Violations can bring a fine from $50 to $1,000 per filing. Firms formed before October 1, 2023 are exempt. - Stricter DUI testing and license rules: mixed, medium. If you drive on public roads, you are treated as having consented to alcohol blood or breath tests and drug blood or oral fluid tests. Officers can choose the test and order testing based on DUI suspicion or probable cause, including after certain crashes. A preliminary alcohol screen needs a certi… - Meat licenses and small farm exemptions: mixed, medium. You must have a state license to run any livestock or poultry slaughter or processing business, including mobile units. The department sets an annual fee, and violations are misdemeanors with fines up to $500. Small producers who sell homemade food or slaughter fewer than 1,000 poultry a year stay… - New alcohol catering rules and fees: mixed, medium. Guest ranch beer and wine licensees can get a catering endorsement to serve at events around the ranch, with drinks consumed at the event. Other catering endorsements require a $200 annual fee, and local governments may charge a $35 per-event notice fee (guest ranch endorsements are exempt). With a… - Public broadband funding and exit rules: mixed, low. State and local governments can fund private broadband projects and build networks on their own campuses. If a private internet company plans to serve an area that a public provider serves, it must give the agency 30 days’ written notice. The public provider must notify subscribers within 30 days a… - Tighter rules for capitol names and art: mixed, low. The capitol and spaces in the capitol complex cannot be named for a person, and long‑term displays honoring a person need legislative approval. A person usually must be deceased at least 10 years. The law also lists certain art and monuments for placement in the capitol complex for up to 50 years,… - New formula for community college funding: mixed, low. The state now sets community college funding by formula. The base is adjusted for inflation, capped at 3%. Funding also changes with weighted resident student counts, using factors the legislature sets. The commissioner determines the actual weighted student numbers. One-time-only appropriations ar… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Daniel Zolnikov (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-17 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 47 | 2 | | | 2025-03-15 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 47 | 3 | | | 2025-01-22 | House | Do Pass | pass | 100 | 0 | | | 2025-01-21 | House | Do Pass | pass | 99 | 0 | | ## Actions (23) - 2025-04-03: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-04-03: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-03-25: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-03-24: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-03-18: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-03-17: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-03-17: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-15: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-26: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-02-25: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-02-20: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-02-13: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-01-23: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-01-22: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-01-22: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-01-21: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-01-16: Committee Report (House) - 2025-01-16: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-01-06: Hearing (House) - 2025-01-06: 1st Reading (House) - 2024-12-30: Referred to Committee (House) - 2024-12-26: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-03-18: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=b488ca4c-6470-4021-bcca-bae2043d0eb4) - Introduced, 2024-12-26: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=1f377c21-8b91-46a7-9637-db16a8b2243b) ## Related bills - SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed) - HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed) - HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed) - SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed) - SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=b488ca4c-6470-4021-bcca-bae2043d0eb4) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=1f377c21-8b91-46a7-9637-db16a8b2243b) ## Related - [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025) - [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025) - [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025) - [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025) - [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills) - [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB112-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).