# Montana SB 221: Generally revise the Montana environmental policy act Montana SB 221, Generally revise the Montana environmental policy act, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) Senate bill sponsored by Wylie Galt (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-05 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB221-2025 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana SB 221 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Generally revise the Montana environmental policy act - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-27 - Last action: 2025-05-05, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Wylie Galt (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Environmental Protection - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 5 (289 yes, 102 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Clearer environmental statements and impact definitions: benefit, low. Major state project reports must include a detailed statement of nearby environmental impacts and any unavoidable harms. Cumulative impacts means the total effects with related past, present, and future actions in the same area or of the same type. Environmental review includes environmental assess… - Feasible alternatives and property rights review: benefit, low. When agencies analyze alternatives, they must be reasonable, use current technology, and be economically feasible based on similar projects. Agencies must consult the project sponsor and give weight to the sponsor’s comments. The no‑action alternative must list environmental, social, and economic i… - Stricter court rules and higher costs: cost, medium. You can challenge only a final agency decision, only on issues you raised in formal comments, and you must file within 60 days. Courts review only the certified record; new information is allowed only by sworn affidavit and must be sent back to the agency first. Challengers must prove claims by cle… - New EIS fees for project applicants: cost, low. Agencies may adopt rules to charge applicants a fee when an environmental impact statement will be required and the agency has not yet made its significance finding. The agency must decide whether an EIS is needed and set any fee within the legal timeline, or within 90 days if no timeline exists. F… - Which projects and sponsors face review: mixed, medium. A proposed action includes projects run by an agency, projects supported with agency money like contracts, grants, subsidies, or loans, and actions that need a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement. It excludes upstream or downstream indirect actions and actions that would happe… - Greenhouse gas checks for fossil-fuel projects: mixed, low. State agencies must include a greenhouse gas assessment when reviewing fossil-fuel projects. Fossil-fuel projects include coal mining, oil or gas drilling, oil or gas production or compression, and burning coal, oil, or gas to make electricity. They do not include biomass power, transportation acti… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Wylie Galt (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-10 | House | Do Concur | pass | 63 | 35 | | | 2025-04-09 | House | Do Concur | pass | 62 | 37 | | | 2025-04-09 | House | Cloture-France | pass | 90 | 4 | | | 2025-02-13 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 37 | 13 | | | 2025-02-12 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 37 | 13 | | ## Actions (23) - 2025-05-05: Chapter Number Assigned (Senate) - 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor (Senate) - 2025-04-23: Transmitted to Governor (Senate) - 2025-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-21: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-04-11: Returned from Enrolling (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Sent to Enrolling (Senate) - 2025-04-10: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-04-09: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-03-27: Committee Report (House) - 2025-03-26: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-03-17: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-14: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-02-14: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-02-13: Transmitted to House (Senate) - 2025-02-13: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-12: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-02-10: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-01-28: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-01-27: Introduced (Senate) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=170b812b-253b-44e4-8f6b-cea13c4e3915) - As Amended (Version 2), 2025-02-11: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f5f362a1-2fef-4b59-80c0-efac175939e3) - Introduced, 2025-01-27: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=e52eef49-870b-41ee-92f5-aa141b747bd0) ## 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=170b812b-253b-44e4-8f6b-cea13c4e3915) - [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f5f362a1-2fef-4b59-80c0-efac175939e3) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=e52eef49-870b-41ee-92f5-aa141b747bd0) ## 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-SB221-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).