MontanaHB 46669th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)House

Provide categorical exclusions from MEPA

Sponsored By: John Fitzpatrick (Republican)

Became Law

Environmental ProtectionRecreation/Parks/SportsState Government

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.

Agencies must track review exclusions

State agencies must track how often they use categorical exclusions. They must give that data to the Environmental Quality Council when asked. This increases public and legislative oversight of skipped reviews.

Agencies can skip some environmental reviews

State agencies can label some actions as categorical exclusions. Those actions are exempt from Montana's environmental review. An agency may also rely on federal National Environmental Policy Act categorical exclusion rules to skip state review. For excluded actions, the law presumes no extraordinary circumstances and no environmental assessment or impact statement is needed. The statute defines a categorical exclusion as an action with no significant adverse effect and lets agencies adopt exclusions or program-level reviews by rule.

Fewer state projects face environmental review

The Department of Administration is exempt from state environmental review for duties tied to building, repair, or utility work on state land and for long‑range building program projects. Covered duties include inspecting, contracting, bonding, transferring funds, inventorying, and supervising. The Department of Commerce is exempt when it creates, authorizes, or runs historic preservation grant programs. The law also narrows "state‑sponsored project" to work the state starts or directly funds. Projects by private entities that only get permits, licenses, leases, easements, grants, loans, or other authorizations from the Department of Environmental Quality; Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; Board of Oil and Gas Conservation; Department of Natural Resources and Conservation or the Board of Land Commissioners, or other agencies acting only as regulators, are excluded.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

John Fitzpatrick
Republican • House

Cosponsors

Wylie Galt
Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 269 • No: 23

House vote • 4/14/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 38 • No: 10

House vote • 4/12/2025

Do Concur

Yes: 38 • No: 8

House vote • 3/4/2025

Do Pass

Yes: 94 • No: 5

House vote • 3/3/2025