Week 1: Legislative Session Update
This week is the first week of the 2025 Montana Legislative Session and we're already off to a busy start! During the course of this session, legislators will vote on bills that will have a meaningful impact on our lives and our communities. These decision may take us closer to a world with justice, safety, and dignity for all -- or farther away.
These high-stakes decisions shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. So, that’s why we want to make sure you’re informed about what’s happening in Helena and share ways you can take action to affect policy change. There are many ways to impact legislation, from giving public comment to showing up at events at the capitol and in your community, but one of the most effective ways is to show up and organize within your very own community!
To make engaging in the legislative session in meaningful ways easy, we will be sharing more information about some upcoming events, opportunities, and bills we're watching each week. This is the first of those weekly emails.
If you'd like to continue to receive these updates, sign up below:
In Solidarity,
Julia Maxon
Program Director
Priority Bills
Key: ✅ Support ❌. Oppose 🔵. Tracking
Criminal Legal Reform
✅ House Bill 50, carried by Rep. Ron Marshall, amends Montana law to provide additional protections for individuals struggling with substance use disorder, particularly parents and pregnant women. The bill expands existing Good Samaritan protections by adding specific safeguards for parents with substance use issues. Specifically, it prohibits using a parent's positive drug test as the sole basis for initiating child abuse investigations, placing a child in protective care, starting abuse and neglect proceedings, or terminating parental rights. The legislation maintains existing protections that prevent arrest or prosecution for individuals seeking medical assistance during a drug-related overdose or for pregnant women seeking treatment for substance use disorders.
The bill aims to encourage individuals with substance use disorders to seek help without fear of immediate legal or familial consequences, recognizing that substance use disorder is a medical condition that requires support rather than punitive action. By providing these protections, the legislation seeks to promote treatment, family preservation, and compassionate approaches to addressing substance use disorders.
HB 50 will be heard Thursday, January 9th at 3 PM in House Human Services Committee (Room 152)
✅ House Bill 93, carried by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, establishes a comprehensive compensation program for individuals who have been wrongfully convicted of felony crimes in Montana. The bill provides a $5,000 transition assistance grant and allows claimants to seek damages of $65,000 for each year of imprisonment and $25,000 for each year on parole or required to register as an offender, and mandates complete expungement of arrest and conviction records upon a successful claim, effectively treating the person as if they were never arrested or convicted.
HB 93 will be heard Tuesday, January 14th at 8 AM in House Judiciary Committee (Room 137)
Health Care
✅ House Bill 76, carried by Rep. SJ Howell, revises laws related to the Board of Behavioral Health by introducing a new category of certification called "family peer support specialist" alongside the existing behavioral health peer support specialist designation. The bill expands the definition of behavioral health to include family peer support, which involves individuals who have personal experience as parents, guardians, or caregivers of children with significant physical, developmental, or behavioral health needs providing support and guidance to other parents and caregivers. The changes aim to broaden the scope of professional behavioral health services, create more inclusive support options, and ensure that peer support specialists have appropriate training and personal experience to effectively assist individuals and families dealing with mental health and developmental challenges.
HB 76 will be heard Wednesday, January 8th at 3 PM in the House Human Services Committee (Room 152)
