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 236) to allow detention officers to receive longevity payments similar to deputy sheriffs; he said parity would improve recruitment and retention in jails and county detention centers. The fiscal note for that bill listed a total estimated increase of about $171,026 across affected counties noted in the fiscal analysis.

On health coverage, Senator Yakovich’s insurance bill (Senate Bill 244) would require insurers to cover behavioral-health screening assessments with no cost to the patient during routine visits; the sponsor said insurers have largely already begun providing such screenings and that coverage could reduce stigma and connect patients to care.

Several education-focused bills also advanced. Senator Beard’s measure (Senate Bill 215) would revise the school-funding statute to enumerate factors the Legislature should consider, including open enrollment, student achievement growth and transparency of per-student spending. Senator Smith’s separate bill (Senate Bill 258) drew the most sustained debate; Smith said she was motivated by local examples of cuts that affected student services and argued that giving future legislatures discretion to exceed the statutory 3% inflationary adjustment could prevent repeated loss of programs.

Other measures that passed included a change to retirement-system survivorship benefits for certain public-safety families (Senate Bill 208), a technical update to allow the Montana Highway Patrol to provide security for the Capitol Complex (House Bill 181), and legislation updating state law on student-athlete name-image-and-likeness rules at the request of the Board of Regents (Senate Bill 271).

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 63 (Flowers) — Restrict use of certain electronic motion-tracking and real-time transmission devices while hunting. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 34 yes, 16 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- Senate Bill 118 (Zollnikov) — Student data "right to be forgotten" and stronger student data privacy protections. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 50 yes, 0 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- Senate Bill 208 (L. Smith) — Revises definition of dependent child for retirement systems to bridge survivorship-gap for certain 18-year-olds still in high school. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 47 yes, 3 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- Senate Bill 215 (Beard) — Revises school-funding law to list educationally relevant factors for formula and transparency. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 31 yes, 19 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- Senate Bill 236 (Usher) — Provides longevity-pay parity for county detention officers similar to deputy sheriffs; includes clause superseding unfunded-mandate limits for affected counties. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 34 yes, 16 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading. Fiscal note cited roughly $171,026 total for listed counties.

- Senate Bill 244 (Yakovich) — Require insurers to cover behavioral-health screening assessments; includes state employee group plans. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 43 yes, 7 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- Senate Bill 258 (L. Smith) — Clarifies Legislature’s authority to provide school-funding inflationary adjustments other than the statutory calculation and in excess of 3%. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 26 yes, 24 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- Senate Bill 271 (Boldman) — Updates state law on student-athlete name-image-and-likeness rules to conform with NCAA and to allow institutions to opt into a national settlement. Motion: recommend do pass. Tally: 40 yes, 10 no. Outcome: Passed on second reading.

- House Bill 181 (Phelan) — Clarifies Montana Highway Patrol jurisdiction to include the Capitol Complex and related buildings; intended to confirm current security arrangements. Motion: recommend concurrence. Tally: 44 yes, 6 no. Outcome: Concurred in by the Senate.

What’s next: The Senate adopted the Committee of the Whole report and continued other second‑reading work; several bills will return for further floor action and final passage votes in subsequent days. Sponsors and opponents indicated follow-up hearings, fiscal reviews and potential amendments may occur before final enrollment and transmission to the House or governor.

Quotes (from the record)

- “This bill simply eliminates that unfair advantage,” Senator Bruce Flowers said of Senate Bill 63, describing technology that can “locate animals and create an unfair advantage.”

- “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,” Senator Zollnikov said while introducing Senate Bill 118.

- Senator Lori Smith, sponsoring the school-funding inflation measure (Senate Bill 258), described seeing local consequences of budget constraints: she said a child calculated “10 fewer PE classes” at a Helena school after recent local budget cuts and argued the Legislature should retain discretion to respond to higher inflation.

- On detention-officer pay (Senate Bill 236), Senator Usher argued the bill is “not just a matter of fairness, it's a matter of public safety,” saying parity in pay and benefits would improve recruitment and retention in county jails.

Ending: The Senate recessed after adopting several committee reports and passing second‑reading measures. Lawmakers scheduled committee meetings and further floor action in the coming days as bills proceed toward final passage.