# Montana SB 144: Change name of mental health advisory council to behavioral health advisory council Montana SB 144, Change name of mental health advisory council to behavioral health advisory council, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) Senate bill sponsored by Mike Yakawich (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-04-03 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB144-2025 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana SB 144 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Change name of mental health advisory council to behavioral health advisory council - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-14 - Last action: 2025-04-03, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Mike Yakawich (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Health, Mental Illness or Incapacity - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 4 (288 yes, 8 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Better coordination for kids needing care: benefit, medium. State agencies share information to track children who need mental health services. This links care across addiction, foster care, developmental disabilities, special education, and juvenile corrections. Parents and guardians see better coordination and faster access to the right services. - Statewide behavioral health system and protections: benefit, medium. The Department of Public Health and Human Services sets up a statewide behavioral health care system using providers. The system must track clear performance and outcome measures. It must offer simple, accessible appeals for level-of-care decisions. The department sets the amount, scope, and durati… - Behavioral Health Advisory Council strengthened: benefit, medium. The statewide council is renamed the Behavioral Health Advisory Council. Half of members must be consumers or immediate family, and appointments must consider geographic diversity. Local advisory councils meet with and report to the statewide council. The council can be organized to meet federal ad… - More help for non-Medicaid families, with fees: mixed, medium. Households not eligible for Medicaid can get public mental health services if family income is 160% of the federal poverty threshold or less. The department can set a lower income limit. It can also count medical bills to lower the income used to decide eligibility. People not eligible for Medicaid… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Mike Yakawich (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Jane Weber (Democrat), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-21 | House | Do Concur | pass | 91 | 6 | | | 2025-03-20 | House | Do Concur | pass | 97 | 2 | | | 2025-02-04 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 50 | 0 | | | 2025-02-03 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 50 | 0 | | ## Actions (23) - 2025-04-03: Chapter Number Assigned (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Signed by Governor (Senate) - 2025-03-27: Transmitted to Governor (Senate) - 2025-03-27: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-03-27: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Returned from Enrolling (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Sent to Enrolling (Senate) - 2025-03-21: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-03-20: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-02-19: Committee Report (House) - 2025-02-18: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-02-07: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-05: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-02-05: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-02-04: Transmitted to House (Senate) - 2025-02-04: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-03: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-01-30: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-01-29: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-01-23: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-01-15: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-01-15: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-01-14: Introduced (Senate) ## Bill text - As Amended (Version 2), 2025-03-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=969f6b54-1c44-4ced-a578-d6e3de096d42) - Enrolled, 2025-03-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=c49f0955-00ca-4cb4-98a6-b5519da71b12) - Introduced, 2025-01-14: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2078b06e-d310-4713-9613-2f6bfa1f012d) ## 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 - [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=969f6b54-1c44-4ced-a578-d6e3de096d42) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=c49f0955-00ca-4cb4-98a6-b5519da71b12) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2078b06e-d310-4713-9613-2f6bfa1f012d) ## 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-SB144-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).