House advances a range of bills; lawmakers debate school mental health pilot, career‑tech funding and wolf management

The Montana House, sitting as the Committee of the Whole on the floor in Helena on Feb. 18, advanced a slate of bills on second reading and recorded final passage on several measures during third reading. Lawmakers spent extended time on proposals to fund career and technical education in middle grades (House Bill 357), create a student‑led school mental health pilot (House Bill 385) and expand tools for wolf management including extending hunting seasons and authorizing additional options for managers (House Bills 258 and 259). A proposal to restrict Fish, Wildlife & Parks from closing mule deer buck hunting during the November rifle season (House Bill 139) failed in committee.

Why it matters: The votes set the bills on a path to the Senate or, for third‑reading measures, to enrollment, and several of the debated items — school mental health grants, CTE funding and changes to wildlife management — carry programmatic and budgetary consequences that committees will consider going forward.

House Bill 357 — middle‑grade career and technical education funding Representative Brent Tillman, sponsor of House Bill 357, described the measure as “gonna have a big impact in Montana,” saying the bill would “foster innovation through the identification and promotion of promising proven career and technical education programs” and provide funding so middle‑grade students can be exposed earlier to career pathways. Representative Tillman moved the committee recommendation for a due‑pass report; the clerk recorded the committee vote 96 in favor and 4 opposed and the bill passed second reading.

House Bill 385 — school mental health promotion pilot Representative Josh Romano introduced House Bill 385 as a student‑driven solution to youth mental health needs. Romano said the proposal grew from months of student work and would create grants administered by the Office of Public Instruction to support student‑led, community‑supported mental health initiatives. “It was teen mental health is in crisis and our state needs to do more to help,” Romano said, quoting students who helped craft the bill. Representative Dennis Eiseley, a CTE teacher, expressed support, calling it “a fantastic bill.” The bill provides $250,000 in funding with grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 per district, according to the sponsor’s explanation. The committee recorded a 62‑37 vote in favor of recommending the bill.

Wolf management bills (House Bills 258 and 259) Representative Brad Fielder sponsored House Bill 258 to require the Fish and Wildlife Commission to authorize a wolf hunting season that would, in the bill’s language, end in concurrence with the spring bear hunting season and allow regional adjustments. Fielder said Montana’s wolf population in recent years has been roughly 1,100–1,200 and that the state should have numbers closer to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidance cited in the Federal Register when wolves were delisted. Representative Paul Rosenzweig offered an amendment that would create a 15‑mile buffer zone around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks with quota and bag‑limit provisions intended to protect wolves that are part of park ecosystems while allowing limited harvest in that buffer for conditioning. Rosenzweig argued the amendment protected gateway tourism economies and the visual wildlife resource that attracts visitors. The amendment passed on the floor 91‑9 and Representative Fielder said the change made the bill “a good bipartisan bill.” The amended bill then passed second reading 57‑42.

House Bill 259, also sponsored by Representative Fielder, would add additional night‑hunting tools to state law by specifying infrared and thermal imaging scopes among permitted devices for gray wolf management and initially used language making certain actions mandatory for the commission. Representative Carter offered an amendment to change the mandatory language (“shall”) to permissive (“may”); that amendment failed 43‑57 and the original bill, as offered by the sponsor, passed second reading 55‑45.

Mule deer November hunt (House Bill 139) Representative Jay Hinkle sponsored House Bill 139 to restrict the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s ability to close mule deer buck hunting during the general rifle season in November. The bill drew extended floor debate from members representing regions with differing deer population trends and outfitting economies. Opponents said the bill removes management flexibility; backers framed it as preserving a long‑standing harvest tradition and protecting access for Montana hunters. The measure failed second reading, 43 in favor and 56 opposed.

Other measures and procedural actions Several other bills received brief floor consideration and committee recommendations. Notable recorded committee votes included House Bill 428 (workers’ compensation technical revisions) passing 100‑0 and House Bill 475 (restriction on restraints for pregnant inmates during labor and delivery) passing committee 96‑4. On the floor, leaders moved re‑referrals: House Bill 385 (school mental health pilot) and House Bill 440 (Montana Food First tax incentives) were both re‑referred to the Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

Votes at a glance (selected recorded tallies from the floor and committee of the whole) - HB 357 (career & technical education middle grades): committee recommendation to due pass recorded 96 yes, 4 no (passed second reading). - HB 385 (school mental health promotion pilot): committee recommendation recorded 62 yes, 37 no (passed second reading); later re‑referred to Appropriations. - HB 258 (wolf hunting season; amended to add 15‑mile park buffer): amendment passed 91‑9; bill passed second reading 57 yes, 42 no. - HB 259 (wolf management: infrared/thermal scopes): amendment to change “shall” to “may” failed 43‑57; bill passed second reading 55 yes, 45 no. - HB 139 (prohibiting November mule deer buck closures): failed second reading 43 yes, 56 no. - HB 428 (workers’ compensation cleanup): committee recorded 100 yes (passed second reading). - HB 447 (Respiratory Care Interstate Compact): committee recorded 100 yes (passed second reading). - HB 467 (use of oral fluid for DUI testing): committee recorded 62 yes, 37 no (passed second reading). - HB 468 (watercraft law cleanup): committee recorded 100 yes (passed second reading). - HB 475 (restraining pregnant inmates): committee recorded 96 yes, 4 no (passed second reading). - HB 503 (fleeing/eluding statute adjustments): committee recorded 85 yes, 14 no (passed second reading). - HB 440 (Montana Food First pilot incentives): committee recorded 59 yes, 41 no (passed second reading); later re‑referred to Appropriations.

What’s next Bills that passed second reading will proceed through the legislative process, including additional committee work and third‑reading votes as required. Re‑referred bills (HB 385 and HB 440) will receive further budgetary review in Appropriations before moving ahead. For measures affecting wildlife management, sponsors and opponents noted that statutory changes could limit or change the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s discretion; future committee hearings and the Senate will weigh those tradeoffs.

Ending note Floor debate combined technical revisions, pilot program proposals and contentious natural‑resource policy. Where votes were close, sponsors and opponents signaled the items will receive continued attention in committee and on the Senate side.