[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6122302,"mediaKeyId","2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d","parentId",2695328,"title","Bill would extend short-term insurance coverage after transfer-on-death deed to avoid coverage gaps","audioSeconds",2422,"startMs",5925000,"endMs",8347000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d&start=5925&end=8347","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d/thumbnail_5925000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6122302/Montana/Bill-would-extend-short-term-insurance-coverage-after-transfer-on-death-deed-to-avoid-coverage-gaps","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122302-7b850d4069a99b211c708a6dc2667f7f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775285173&Signature=GgYEbc6MfSUWJzNJv9Dp56byi-ToZNYbJ8QOKTHgLhpdvlQ0vNwv3AJhrbJ4~~v0Kr3HJZR2aximgP0pTtu9c7DLuQA~AdG8uWPjymSJ4iWx~VDfk2vQii4QC45VWkCZnKPSq59EMlXaQlnUX~nVRILwy6LV5761FiuoNDe9SVVVW2y3jhOvgnFYeOqe~9OSTPQMKaeXP5hDqNtg3Xz19-OTf1wlmIKCzYf17UKdZhRgK2iXllzzUAylpAEyYSWOzJ3~PH95KiOWinHeThc-dNCFMnHPDgT9xDlK-z-570s9ifNOTI54DppxdiNYeEyEZtwyHCgbsRR6D7cjjxsvMQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-19T00:00:00Z","article","Representative Steve Fitzpatrick told the committee House Bill 464 is intended to close a coverage gap that can occur when a property owner records a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed: when the owner dies, title transfers to the named beneficiary, and some insurers treat the policy as ended because the named insured no longer has an insurable interest.

\"The idea here is that the homeowner has paid a premium,\" Fitzpatrick said. \"All that's happened is you've had a change in who owns it. We should at least let the insurance carry over for a minimum amount of time so that if there is a loss, that loss is covered.\" The bill would automatically extend coverage to the designated beneficiary for the remainder of the current policy term or for 45 days after death, whichever is shorter, unless the beneficiary disclaims the interest.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Frank Cote and Helena attorney Corina Wilmot, who helped draft the measure with estate-planning lawyers, said the change would fix three practical problems: (1) beneficiaries often do not know they hold title immediately; (2) estates sometimes cannot get a personal representative appointed quickly to cancel a policy; and (3) coverage lapses can leave owners or estates exposed to losses that produce difficult claims and unrecoverable premium refunds.

Committee members probed the 45-day period. Fitzpatrick said the intent is to balance estate-administration realities against insurers' interest in avoiding coverage for unpaid premiums; Cote added that the bill is drafted so it will not force insurers to cover risks where a premium had already lapsed before death.

Ending: Supporters said the bill would protect beneficiaries and estates from unintended losses and simplify administration; the committee advanced the measure with a technical amendment and passed the bill as amended in executive action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs - Wednesday, Mar 19, 2025 07:59 - 12:17","oneSentenceSummary","A bill would require insurers to treat a beneficiary named on a recorded transfer-on-death deed as the named insured for a short transition period after the owner\ries, preventing coverage lapses while beneficiaries arrange new insurance; sponsors proposed a 45-day limit or the policy's remaining term, whichever is shorter.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122308,"Bill to standardize unlicensed-practice discipline advances after brief hearing",139,2408000,2547000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d&start=2408&end=2547","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d/thumbnail_2408000.jpg","/articles/6122308/Montana/Bill-to-standardize-unlicensed-practice-discipline-advances-after-brief-hearing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122308-c4f3c779e39023d3936441b788c0d120/orig.mp4?Expires=1775285173&Signature=XlTn2Bp--4HaTWsH-68i4F-aVKKaZVIoHucqIuUiEW7e6o-kizIX0phz2A5n5ZwT99UjjIV10K9vcf9k3Y7GDxWv0RYSku3IoGfapWDUyXKSExs99xBGJDn4RVwPwZmCCkNwPpmv~UT0ZvxlkFzjiSWvukzBXdBDRY7otonQEal59HNiVGcp~Sq8KdOtGvbD2sXoM3998ROyWXefgLTZX8zbNqFLdgWs9PcDUjqZyr1Tc4XMD9XPU2tXrAXh9BaS7XCSOF5wlqg1we8yhuAVk5nViFm8o6j9~1IjgRwf97OtKmOA9rv62~lLJU1CaHGKLf~1vTrzpZsLWzKHey7NGw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Jody Echart (House District 51) brought House Bill 296 to the Senate Business and Labor Committee as a cleanup measure to standardize how licensing boards address unlicensed practice and progressive discipline.

Echart and Quinlan O'Connor, chief legal counsel to the Department of Labor and Industry, told the committee that earlier sessions produced multiple, partly overlapping bills and that HB296 collects the remaining cleanup language needed to ensure a single, consistent statutory approach for cease-and-desist orders, fines, injunctive relief and criminal penalties across occupational licensing.

O'Connor said the bill strikes conflicting sections so \"we have one statutory answer for all of occupational licensing about what happens in the event of unlicensed practice.\" Committee staff confirmed there were no opponents in the room or online and no informational witnesses.

Ending: Committee members asked no substantive follow-ups and the committee later advanced the bill during executive action.","House Bill 296 would harmonize statutory language about progressive discipline for unlicensed practice across occupational licensing boards; sponsors said it cleans up overlapping language from earlier sessions and drew no opponents in committee.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122312,"Bill to merge four low-volume licensing boards draws broad support from providers and department",837,5070000,5907000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d&start=5070&end=5907","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d/thumbnail_5070000.jpg","/articles/6122312/Montana/Bill-to-merge-four-low-volume-licensing-boards-draws-broad-support-from-providers-and-department","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122312-f45f711097b449ca381e1535750e680b/orig.mp4?Expires=1775285173&Signature=jv-JoyRjol08lfBe6relh-KjDaZQ61MK7npBEy2ezN2OMzVAnW3BzueStjjSXDQ5EZcOtnFYVikVnobi2e~B1rq3ywtLuVtGCFyq-JuSxg0GE1pNpS9EF3-zGZC7kQxuBn-y~f1W949nKZOBcUv7YzX3iK1UijCLkZ90quFJAzRx1PhtpBRCKcLWay9ixd-iOXpRdmBvXqbsB8yuKlsLoRChi0-qJ6fFtHb74dstBcYS45m-6QhastKAEXDa3Tue6lZ5YP7yCjEKFC-k~cH8hkBqMjl81mFQzb9XuLGthJFOItdoiYeH4eP3QNejYdwQJg3JiRcuiOqGxGvw4UKobA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Ed Butchery introduced House Bill 438, which would create a new Board of Physical Rehabilitative and Developmental Health Care Professionals inside the Department of Labor and Industry and shift licensure and disciplinary oversight for athletic trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and audiologists into that single board.

Sarah Swanson, commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, described the change as an efficiency move to consolidate several low-volume boards that together handled only five complaints last year but required 20 separate board members and multiple meetings. \"Consolidating four of our smaller boards
nd creating a single board of about 12 members will save meeting costs, reduce staff workload and give the board more capacity to handle complex cases,\" Swanson told the committee.

Stakeholders from each profession testified in support after an 18-month negotiation process that the commissioner and sponsor described. Athletic trainers, physical therapists and speech/hearing advocates said they had worked to preserve seat representation and specialty protections. Riley Ungaretti, president of the Montana Athletic Trainers Association, said the negotiated board composition preserved access to expertise for traditional and nontraditional athletic-trainer practice settings.

The bill sets a delayed effective date (January 1, 2026) to allow rulemaking and transition, and the department said cash balances of the dissolved boards will carry into the new board's appropriation subject to the legislature's cap on carryover. Committee members asked about screening panels and whether the new board would have the right mix of expertise for disciplinary review; Swanson said the bill's membership rules were designed so screening panels would include discipline-specific members when needed.

Ending: The committee advanced the bill; proponents credited the department and stakeholders for collaborative rule-writing and compromise on board composition. Supporters said consolidation should reduce administrative costs while keeping safeguards for discipline and specialty practice.","House Bill 438 would consolidate boards for athletic trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists/audiologists into a single board to reduce meetings, increase capacity and lower per-license costs; stakeholders largely supported the compromise makeup and transition plan.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122317,"Montana lawmakers hear competing views on medical-malpractice jury instruction bill",1723,3313000,5036000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d&start=3313&end=5036","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d/thumbnail_3313000.jpg","/articles/6122317/Montana/Montana-lawmakers-hear-competing-views-on-medical-malpractice-jury-instruction-bill","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122317-8c444a7ef3958eb44afce75c98aa1fba/orig.mp4?Expires=1775285173&Signature=MA7YrwVsX0JngKkeDDgqRYujXJ3JBw3NCIf1goqRmLOmTCgNPNP6VNR5Br946Hhcmf1U8sRoBjesDlDytJUhJVhAe9qmEoQuYa~1EKDT5QSEa5VD7GOXypkWGaMgtAoem-MFgMW-YnOS6LGgMYOVOTFr8fi5CeG8xwbVRYu~3lTgUDjrygrkaTkwDCUMfIego-xkuleVAQqgQ6noZ7l~d0MvfnbYW7OfVaREpE2W~6nWiT1simbMlFyEmvtb-VFTCurPShcWWiV~JGvS1iUJg9BhCI01VmLi6yy14uyShO93roPciY2kVCvDg9Y13p7ipNB1j7vx2NxyCOSi3AmmSw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Mercer opened testimony for House Bill 342, which would codify a jury-instruction standard stating that the foreseeability of a specific risk does not raise or heighten the duty owed by a medical provider beyond the reasonable standard of care applicable to that provider.

Mercer described the measure as a response to the Montana Supreme Court\recision in Cayman v. Glacier Eye Clinic (2023), which he said shifted instruction toward a foreseeability approach. Mercer said the bill would \"reestablish\" long-standing pattern jury instructions used by district courts and quoted the proposed language: \"the foreseeability of risks or of a specific risk does not change or heighten the duty owed beyond the reasonable standard of care applicable to the medical provider.\"

Proponents including representatives of the Montana Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Montana chapter), the Montana Hospital Association and physician groups argued the change would preserve a reasonable standard of care and avoid defensive medicine, help retain specialists in rural areas and keep malpractice insurance costs from rising. Nathan Allen, an emergency physician, described clinical decision-making as balancing multiple foreseeable severe risks and said the jury instruction should preserve expert-driven standards for medical practice.

Opponents, represented by trial lawyers including Al Smith, said the proposed statutory change would amount to special protections for medical defendants and noted that proportionate-duty or \"disproportionate care\" instructions had been used by some Montana trial judges in prior cases. Opponents warned the measure would overturn recent case law and reduce judicial flexibility in instructing juries.

Committee members questioned the legal background of the pattern jury instructions and whether courts had previously used the proportional instruction; both sides pointed to case law and to the role of expert testimony in malpractice cases. The hearing produced extensive technical testimony from physicians and lawyers but no formal committee action was taken during the hearing; the sponsor closed and the committee recorded the hearing as concluded. The bill was later held for executive action rather than voted on immediately.

Ending: Supporters said the bill would preserve a consistent, expert-driven standard of care; opponents said it would create a legal advantage for medical defendants. The committee concluded the hearing and left the bill for later executive action.","House Bill 342 would reinstate a pattern jury instruction in medical malpractice cases rejecting a heightened foreseeability-based duty; physicians and hospitals supported the change, trial lawyers opposed it as industry-specific protection.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122321,"Committee hears bill to give state auditor access to tax records for insurance and securities investigations",2840,2585000,5425000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d&start=2585&end=5425","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695328-2136078408fbfb764494818e7a47c58d/thumbnail_2585000.jpg","/articles/6122321/Montana/Committee-hears-bill-to-give-state-auditor-access-to-tax-records-for-insurance-and-securities-investigations","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122321-bb21190f53114e08ed73332e3b294a6a/orig.mp4?Expires=1775285173&Signature=XgNcfIEnQnTZfyHFwod5J9BEMSk1ZmvDWIY0NWC8GI9l6MbM0evc1By-2mAbTCCZ1E5h3~1pc9m3nTC9JX5QY1G1JJgblqSUcGSbWaC83WF43f32hvsIe2Fo~caqBis5PPRl9WBJM33V-GOx8TmdPMEWpMZIS7xWjJe4Z3T9KWAwS~Jyuerc6~Mf6wPALtWlvw~YSuqfQOlKt3dl60551MZ4tTg1oAQDqYRPqyT9JZay13Juw40W690EmB8cuXZYH-Dfd7GRQI23MzQ~d8lnAyKXuahoSvO9P3RG2Z5chZv12~YBzxsFO3uBpq9pCue9iKxSyWN6hwq-9-poudQQSA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Marta Bertoglio, sponsor of House Bill 94, told the Senate Business and Labor Committee that the bill would amend Montana\fode\fonfidentiality rules to let the commissioner of securities and insurance access certain taxpayer return data and employer payroll withholding reports for use in investigating fraud and noncompliance.

The bill
ims to \"enhance the commissioner's ability to investigate, detect, and prevent noncompliance, fraud, and abuse under state securities and insurance laws,\" Bertoglio said, and proponents including the Department of Revenue and the State Auditor's office told the committee the change would speed investigations and better protect consumers.

Proponents said the change would place the state auditor on the same footing as other state agencies that already receive limited tax data for enforcement. Tony Zammit, deputy chief legal counsel at the Montana Department of Revenue, told the committee that the bill is not a \"magic bullet\" but would allow agencies to act faster in cases where a court-ordered warrant would otherwise be required, and that faster access could limit ongoing harm to Montanans.

Committee members pressed agency witnesses on limits and safeguards. Senator Curti asked how far the office could go with the information; Frank Cote, deputy insurance commissioner, said the bill requires the office to be in the middle of an active investigation to receive the data. \"I can't just go say, 'Hey, I wonder what Senator Curti made last year,'\" Cote said; access, he said, must be tied to an investigative purpose in securities or insurance matters.

Other senators raised privacy concerns and asked whether the change would replace existing judicial warrants. Cote and Zammit said courts and warrants remain available, and that the bill would provide quicker access in limited cases when prompt information is needed to stop fraud.

The committee heard no opponents in person or online and ended the hearing with a series of technical clarifications from witnesses. The bill was later moved out of committee during executive action.

Ending: The committee advanced the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration after the hearing and subsequent executive action; sponsors and agency staff said the measure is intended to speed fraud investigations while relying on statutory limits in the bill to confine access to active securities or insurance probes.","A House bill would let the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance receive taxpayer return and employer withholding data for active investigations into securities and insurance fraud; the bill drew questions about privacy protections and limits on use.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Bill would extend short-term insurance coverage after transfer-on-death deed to avoid coverage gaps

Bill to standardize unlicensed-practice discipline advances after brief hearing

Bill to merge four low-volume licensing boards draws broad support from providers and department

Montana lawmakers hear competing views on medical-malpractice jury instruction bill

Committee hears bill to give state auditor access to tax records for insurance and securities investigations