Senate Bill 147, a proposal to keep Montana’s 2023 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) on the books permanently, moved through the Legislature this spring after the House removed several additional provisions that had been added in the Senate.

Brooke Barker Taylor, an assistant attorney general with the Montana Department of Justice, told the Montana ICWA Community of Practice on Zoom that SB 147 originally reauthorized the 2023 law and included several amendments the bill sponsor had proposed to strengthen the child welfare system. "One of the amendments was going to allow tribes and prospective guardians or adoptive parents to enter into what was termed heritage guidance plans to allow an opportunity to provide prospective parents resources to ensure that Indian children stay connected to their culture, community, tribe, and family," Barker Taylor said. She said the Senate passed the bill with those amendments in February.

At the House Human Services Committee in March, Barker Taylor said, committee members added an amendment that removed the Senate’s additional provisions but lifted the statute’s sunset clause so the 2023 law would remain in force. "The House committee redlined [the amendments] but said, we'll lift the sunset," she said. Barker Taylor said the amended bill passed the committee on April 7, returned to the Senate, passed a second reading there, and was slated for a third reading; she said she expected the bill to go to the governor for signature once the legislature finished action.

Barker Taylor also said the sponsorship and committee record showed broad tribal support: "There was support by all 12 tribes' resolutions." She characterized lifting the sunset as a major outcome: "I think that's a really big win for Indian children and child welfare in our state." She added that the House removal of the Senate's additional provisions "doesn't prevent us from implementing best practices" at the local or agency level.

Separately, Barker Taylor told the group that Senate Bill 224, a measure creating Indigenous Peoples' Day, had passed both chambers and was in enrolling — the step of preparing final bill text for the governor. She said she would notify meeting organizers once she had final confirmation of SB 147’s signing.

Why it matters: Reauthorizing the 2023 ICWA without the previous sunset clause would keep state law in place indefinitely; the change preserves the underlying 2023 statute while removing additional statutory requirements the Senate had proposed and the House rejected. Local practitioners and tribal partners told the community meeting they intend to continue policy and practice improvements regardless of the statutes’ final text.

What remains uncertain: Barker Taylor said the House-stripped provisions included several specifics — heritage guidance plans, status hearings every 60 days when an Indian child is not in a preferred placement, and strengthened tribal-state consultation — that are no longer in the bill text as it passed the House committee. The timeline for final gubernatorial action was not specified at the meeting; Barker Taylor said she would share an update when she had confirmation of signature.

Context and next steps: Meeting organizers said the Court Improvement Program will circulate legislative updates to the community once final action is confirmed. Participants at the meeting discussed continuing to implement the “active efforts” and consultation practices the Senate amendments had sought to codify, even if the final statute does not require them.