Montana Senate advances education, public-safety, health and hunting bills; approves several on second reading

HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Senate on Feb. 18 moved a slate of bills forward on second reading, approving measures that address student data privacy, school funding language, detention officer pay parity, mandated behavioral-health screening coverage, restrictions on electronic hunting devices and other topics. Several bills drew extended debate while others passed with limited discussion.

The most contested vote came on a bill that would give the Legislature explicit authority to provide inflationary adjustments to school funding beyond the statute’s 3% figure. Senator Lori Smith, the bill sponsor, said the measure would give future legislatures flexibility to respond to higher costs and protect classroom services. Opponents warned the change could invite lawsuits over adequacy and significantly increase education spending.

Why it matters: The bills affect statewide services from K-12 funding and student privacy to county detention staffing and health-insurance coverage. The votes set many measures on course for further consideration, with some likely to shape budgeting and administrative practice in coming sessions.

Senators debated several bills at length before votes. Senator Bruce Flowers, sponsor of legislation to ban the use of certain electronic motion-tracking devices while hunting (Senate Bill 63), said the bill “eliminates that unfair advantage” that new technologies can create for hunters. Senator Zollnikov (Senate Bill 118), who sponsored a student-data privacy bill often described as a “right to be forgotten,” told colleagues: “The point of this bill is that if you do not want your child's data or if it's your data and you get older, that you should have the right to remove it from the system.”

On public-safety payroll and benefits, Senator Usher sponsored legislation (Senate Bill…