# Montana HB 17: Revise terms for forest lands taxation advisory committee

Montana HB 17, Revise terms for forest lands taxation advisory committee, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Mark Thane (Democrat); status signed, last action 2025-02-27 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB17-2025
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Montana HB 17
- State: Montana
- Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)
- Title: Revise terms for forest lands taxation advisory committee
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2024-11-22
- Last action: 2025-02-27, Chapter Number Assigned
- Sponsor: Mark Thane (Democrat)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Forests and Forestry, Taxation--Property, Taxation, Taxation--Property
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (295 yes, 4 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New forest tax advisory panel rules: benefit, low. The law sets a nine-member forest lands tax advisory committee. Legislative leaders appoint four members; the Governor appoints five (two industrial owners, two nonindustrial owners, and one county commissioner). Members are named by July 1 two years before each reappraisal cycle; terms generally r…
- New formula to tax forest land: mixed, medium. Montana now uses zones and a formal model to value private forest land for property taxes. Per-acre value is V = I / R, where I is average annual wood income plus any farm income, minus yearly management costs. The Department uses the most recent 10 years of data, dropping the highest and lowest st…
- Law takes effect immediately: mixed, low. This law takes effect on passage and approval. Its rules apply statewide starting that date.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mark Thane (Democrat), House
- Cosponsor: Dave Fern (Democrat), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-02-13 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 49 | 1 |   |
| 2025-02-12 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 47 | 3 |   |
| 2025-01-13 | House | Do Pass | pass | 99 | 0 |   |
| 2025-01-10 | House | Do Pass | pass | 100 | 0 |   |

## Actions (23)

- 2025-02-27: Chapter Number Assigned (House)
- 2025-02-27: Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-02-20: Transmitted to Governor (House)
- 2025-02-20: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-02-19: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-02-17: Returned from Enrolling (House)
- 2025-02-13: Sent to Enrolling (House)
- 2025-02-13: 3rd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: 2nd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-01-24: Committee Report (Senate)
- 2025-01-23: Committee Executive Action (Senate)
- 2025-01-16: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-01-15: Referred to Committee (Senate)
- 2025-01-14: 1st Reading (Senate)
- 2025-01-13: Transmitted to Senate (House)
- 2025-01-13: 3rd Reading (House)
- 2025-01-10: 2nd Reading (House)
- 2025-01-09: Committee Report (House)
- 2025-01-09: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-01-06: Hearing (House)
- 2025-01-06: 1st Reading (House)
- 2024-12-20: Referred to Committee (House)
- 2024-11-22: Introduced (House)

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2025-03-14: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=938849ff-c64b-4837-9d14-4479e91d85c5)
- As Amended (Version 2), 2025-02-14: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=576fad1a-7cd3-4259-8753-d33ca786ce22)
- Introduced, 2024-11-26: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=cefdbef1-fe64-4fd8-9a04-bd57fa8de375)

## 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 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed)
- SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed)

## Sources
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=938849ff-c64b-4837-9d14-4479e91d85c5)
- [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=576fad1a-7cd3-4259-8753-d33ca786ce22)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=cefdbef1-fe64-4fd8-9a04-bd57fa8de375)

## 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 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025)
- [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025)
- [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills)
- [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB17-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).