Montana Legislative Session: How Bills Are Created

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - After the last Montana legislative session, where a Missoula representative caused an uproar that eventually led to her expulsion from the chamber, I spoke with Montana Senate President-Elect Matt Regier about how plans are going to address the vital issues facing the state in the session that begins in January.

Regier described the genesis of a bill in the state legislature.

Senate President Matt Regier Spoke About the Upcoming Session

“It really starts with an idea, and a lot of times our constituents will talk to their representative or Senator about an idea, and that legislator, and there's only 150 of us, we take that idea and we've got a team of nonpartisan attorneys that will draft both sides of the aisle, they'll take whatever idea and put that into legal terms, into a bill draft,” began Regier.

After Governor Gianforte presented his budget, Regier said to coin a phrase, the governor proposes and the legislature disposes.

When it Comes to the Budget The Governor Proposes and the Legislature Disposes

“The governor can't do anything unless we appropriate the money,” said Regier. “All the appropriations start with the legislature. His proposed budget, it's just a proposed budget from all his departments, and then we take a look at it and change that up to the will of the legislature. Obviously, it needs to be signed and okayed by the governor at the end. But that's our constitutional job.”

I also asked Regier about what happened during the last session when Missoula legislator Zooey Zephyr was reprimanded and temporarily removed from the floor.

“We really had 149 legislators that came to town to debate ideas and to do the committee work and do the floor work and pass the bills, and we had one legislator that was really there just for a spotlight and more of an activist role,” he said. “And that's unfortunate. It took away the spotlight from the work that needed to be done, and hopefully individuals will come to do more work and not just be there for headlines.”

Remembering the Zooey Zephyr Controversy in 2023

One more interesting aspect of the upcoming session will be the rest room situation.

“There's a common men's bathroom and a common women's bathroom in between the Senate chambers and the House chambers here in the Capitol,” he said. “There was a rule proposed to say that women use the women's bathroom and men use the men's bathroom, and that rule did fail. I think there is some concern for just safety and comfort from some of the ladies in the caucus, and I think that situation is still going to work itself out.”

The session begins on January 6 and will adjourn on May 9, 2025.