# Montana HB 401: Prohibit the sale of lab-grown meat in the state of Montana

Montana HB 401, Prohibit the sale of lab-grown meat in the state of Montana, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Braxton Mitchell (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-05 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB401-2025
- 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 401
- State: Montana
- Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)
- Title: Prohibit the sale of lab-grown meat in the state of Montana
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-02-05
- Last action: 2025-05-05, Chapter Number Assigned
- Sponsor: Braxton Mitchell (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Agriculture, Crimes, Livestock, Rule Making
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (201 yes, 95 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Statewide ban on false ads: benefit, medium. The law bans publishing false advertisements in Montana. Businesses and people must make truthful claims in ads statewide. This protects shoppers from misleading marketing.
- Lab-grown meat banned with penalties: cost, medium. The law makes it illegal to make, sell, deliver, hold, or offer lab-grown meat in Montana. Anyone who knowingly breaks this ban commits a misdemeanor. Regulators can issue immediate stop-sale orders to pull products from shelves. Restaurants, groceries, and other retail food businesses face discipl…
- Lab-grown meat not counted as meat: cost, medium. The law defines cell-cultured edible products as food made from animal cells grown in culture, not from a slaughtered animal. It excludes these products from “meat,” “hamburger,” and “ground beef.” It removes a past exception that let some labels call these products meat. These products must follow…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Braxton Mitchell (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Wylie Galt (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-14 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 34 | 14 |   |
| 2025-04-12 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 39 | 11 |   |
| 2025-03-06 | House | Do Pass | pass | 64 | 35 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | House | Do Pass | pass | 64 | 35 |   |

## Actions (30)

- 2025-05-05: Chapter Number Assigned (House)
- 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-04-25: Transmitted to Governor (House)
- 2025-04-25: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-04-23: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-04-15: Returned from Enrolling (House)
- 2025-04-14: Sent to Enrolling (House)
- 2025-04-14: 3rd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-04-12: 2nd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-04-02: Committee Report (Senate)
- 2025-04-01: Committee Executive Action (Senate)
- 2025-03-27: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-03-14: Referred to Committee (Senate)
- 2025-03-14: 1st Reading (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Transmitted to Senate (House)
- 2025-03-06: 3rd Reading (House)
- 2025-03-04: 2nd Reading (House)
- 2025-03-04: Revised Fiscal Note Printed (House)
- 2025-03-03: Revised Fiscal Note Signed (House)
- 2025-02-27: Revised Fiscal Note Requested (House)
- 2025-02-26: Committee Report (House)
- 2025-02-26: Fiscal Note Printed (House)
- 2025-02-26: Fiscal Note Unsigned (House)
- 2025-02-26: Fiscal Note Received (House)
- 2025-02-25: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-02-06: Hearing (House)
- 2025-02-06: 1st Reading (House)
- 2025-02-06: Referred to Committee (House)
- 2025-02-05: Fiscal Note Requested (House)
- 2025-02-05: Introduced (House)

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2025-04-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=3decfd7f-b2d3-4b7b-8249-33c4ffd40c22)
- As Amended (Version 2), 2025-02-26: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=6514911f-5a2e-470f-b260-5a817fe9b309)
- Introduced, 2025-02-05: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2347b938-1757-4031-8a43-e8303db1caf7)

## 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=3decfd7f-b2d3-4b7b-8249-33c4ffd40c22)
- [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=6514911f-5a2e-470f-b260-5a817fe9b309)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2347b938-1757-4031-8a43-e8303db1caf7)

## 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)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB401-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).