HELENA — After 85 working days, the Montana Legislature wrapped up its 69th session Wednesday.
Only a few hours after the House and Senate adjourned “sine die” – meaning without a date to return – most lawmakers had already packed up their desks and headed out of the State Capitol.
(Watch the video to see some of the scenes from the last day of the Legislature's 2025 session.)
The House began their 85th legislative day around 9 a.m. First on their agenda was House Bill 231, one of a pair of property tax bills that’s been at the center of discussions over the last few days. It’s tied together with Senate Bill 542, which the House didn’t take up again because a conference committee left it unchanged from the version the House already approved.
If both are signed into law, SB 542 and HB 231 would establish “homestead” tax rates – reducing rates on Montanans’ primary residences, long-term rentals and small commercial properties, but raising them on properties that don’t qualify. State leaders determined they wouldn’t be able to fully implement the homestead rates for this year, so the bills would create interim rates for the first year – higher rates for higher-value residential properties – along with a one-time rebate of up to $400.
On Wednesday, lawmakers again debated whether the tax relief these bills would provide to primary residences would be worth the tax burden they could shift onto other types of property.
“That cake was baked,” said Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, who opposed the bills. “When we got here, this policy was already decided. Unfortunately, it's our constituents who have to eat that stale, moldy piece of cake now that we're about to give them.”
“Yes, there is a tax shift that's involved here, but the objective was to provide as much relief as we could to as many Montanans as we could,” said Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, who supported the proposals.
In the end, the House endorsed HB 231 on a preliminary vote. After an hourlong recess, they returned and passed it on a final vote, 60-39.
House members also gave final approval Wednesday to House Bill 2, the main $16.6 billion state budget bill, as amended by the Senate. They officially adjourned at 12:58 p.m.
The Senate, initially scheduled to begin their day at 10 a.m., ended up coming in around noon, when the House returned from their recess. They passed SB 542 and HB 231 on final votes, each 28-22.
The final bill under consideration in the Senate was Senate Bill 324, which would have increased the fee for registering a vehicle worth more than $150,000 in the state. A conference committee turned out a final version of the bill on Tuesday. The House approved it, but it failed on a tied vote, 25-25, in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, attempted to revive the bill, but his motion to reconsider also failed 25-25. The issue led to some brief drama just before adjournment, as senators initially rejected a motion to adjourn sine die, then Flowers again proposed reconsidering their actions on SB 324. However, Senate leaders determined that the rules didn’t allow a second attempt at reconsideration. Senators then voted to adjourn at 2:12 p.m., officially ending the 2025 legislative session.
The final day of the session was emotional for many lawmakers. More than a dozen members will be termed out after serving eight years in either the House or the Senate. Many of them delivered farewell speeches to their colleagues Wednesday.
“I wanted to represent everyone in my community that stepped up for me, and so that is why I'm here today,” said Senate President Pro Tem Sen. Ken Bogner, R-Miles City. “So I have a lot of thank you's to the people who made this possible.”
“People say, ‘What are you most proud of?’” said Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena. “And I say I'm most proud of the people I represent. My best legislation has never been my idea. They've always been ideas from the people who I represent.”
Throughout the 69th session, the House and Senate considered more than 1,500 bills. The fact that the session is over doesn't mean that legislation is settled. Over the coming weeks, Gov. Greg Gianforte will have the opportunity to sign or veto all of the bills that passed the Legislature. Of course, it’s also likely courts will be asked to weigh in on at least some of this legislation.
