Representative Becky Edwards opened the hearing on House Bill 26, an act to repeal the Mercury Added Thermostat Collection Act.

Edwards, the bill sponsor, told the committee the federal law and market changes have removed mercury-added thermostats from the marketplace and that a national take‑back program has replaced the need for a Montana-specific disposal statute. "HB 26 title is an act repealing the Mercury Added Thermostat Collection Act," Edwards said in her opening remarks and described the measure as a cleanup bill.

Amy Steinmetz, Waste Management and Remediation Division Administrator at DEQ, testified in support and described the history: thermostat manufacturers established a national voluntary take‑back program (the Thermostat Recycling Corporation) before the Montana law was enacted, and by 2010 a national program met the statute's intended functions. Steinmetz told the committee reporting from the Montana program fell below reporting thresholds by 2017 and the last required report DEQ received was in 2018. She added that hazardous‑waste regulations governing mercury handling would remain in effect even if the statute is repealed: "The repeal of the Mercury Added Thermostat Collection Act has no impact on the regulations protecting us from mercury. Mercury is considered hazardous waste and there are very specific regulations in place regarding management and disposal of this waste."

No proponents or opponents appeared online or in the room beyond the sponsor and DEQ; DEQ recommended passage as regulatory reform because the law has "served its purpose" and is no longer necessary to ensure proper disposal.

The committee took no formal vote on the bill at the hearing; it will consider executive action at a later date.