[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6100441,"mediaKeyId","2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac","parentId",2813575,"title","Votes at a glance: committee advances multiple bills including HB 861, HB 313 and HB 456","audioSeconds",1255,"startMs",3937000,"endMs",5192000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac&start=3937&end=5192","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac/thumbnail_3937000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6100441/Montana/Votes-at-a-glance-committee-advances-multiple-bills-including-HB-861-HB-313-and-HB-456","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6100441-2c2e6ce7d2fda12d89acc7c4b900110e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771158091&Signature=gy~WTSuDfLa-Q7ADH6IpQQntr850mob-jtnFoLM-XxNXXXC1X6lAEQ7VecNh5yC5aoYJj2A603nwnLnXe7FO~12p~1HrWvhgveaZnc1bYzuTuNmO604~ozErMY5a62FRRMCeLLg8dKtgaSGxbOpHdMLe40Ioww7wcWMU9cGYRRhIsy2lfHOuhca9TumUgEAYT8FskneHEQ5XBctkpNfGS1rtSFYQ6rv1DOyOezlkUn4PgFBGAYG303jV5yuWPA5gb7BuZHTn0lSBiyCYKT7BsVDahKd1nr0EAk5ZyWKk3IBXY6cW7Job4ZWmMBiYFOUxNQYK8T-UuD6oxh-U41DyRw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-28T00:00:00Z","article","During a lengthy committee session, members took executive action and recorded roll call votes on multiple bills.

Key outcomes:

- House Bill 861 (digital toolkit): Committee adopted a four‑year sunset amendment and recommended do‑pass. Roll call recorded 20 yes, 3 no; outcome: advanced out of committee as amended.

- House Bill 313 (community swimming pool grants; two amendments adopted): Committee approved the bill as amended. Roll call recorded 16 yes, 7 no; outcome: advanced out of committee as amended.

- House Bill 456 (childcare subsidy eligibility and caps; amendment adopted to set income cap and eligibility rules): Committee approved the bill as amended. Roll call recorded 15 yes, 8 no; outcome: advanced out of committee as amended.

The committee also listed several bills scheduled for executive action later in the week (HB 337, HB 330, HB 331, HB 339, HB 361, HB 876, SB 72, HB 4, HB 525) and confirmed that staff updated the House Bill 2 narrative with committee actions for the session binders and online materials.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Appropriations - Friday, Mar 28, 2025 08:59 - 10:40","oneSentenceSummary","Committee recorded executive actions and roll call votes on several bills: HB 861 (digital toolkit) passed 20–3 after a sunset amendment; HB 313 (community swimming pool grants) passed 16–7; HB 456 (childcare subsidy provisions) passed 15–8.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6100445,"Sponsor outlines companion Section E bill to clarify higher‑education funding formulas and set interim studies",1635,2225000,3860000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac&start=2225&end=3860","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac/thumbnail_2225000.jpg","/articles/6100445/Montana/Sponsor-outlines-companion-Section-E-bill-to-clarify-highereducation-funding-formulas-and-set-interim-studies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6100445-d49cd32c64d8291752a715f71db40c71/orig.mp4?Expires=1771158091&Signature=eEvF16Xr7BEUiUuQEK8dLyeAa1vX14Ol5ikV8aNNgXxZv5YNqKuMSDgACeLb4~wUJfgQ5EWebG0MY7ATd82lJ-xM26Dqq4l8woUPR3cNC32oS2Wn8VM3CfhTNlb-B30I1v55KsFyHdwv8-oGNUcurLNleaeBZbtR0yo1DQZSzG54IHLqhgGtyhwacqaI-gNEEyRlOOMEjO9Hy1QbMh7ZGIOOwln2AkrbFfBcIN8V39yq4t4mYZdOoS4lpyVe01g2aG4kH9mmH1ZlRROIC8c98pivqDpYya97OAAa5gmEPsRtgRN4Wh1RY2eqEkNo3t1iz1EBJ4OX1YsZc53mDTQ4FQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative David Beatty presented House Bill 864, the Section E companion bill, to a legislative committee hearing that detailed clarifications to higher‑education funding language, an inflationary increase to a tribal college payment rate, and a package of interim studies and reporting directives for education programs.

The sponsor said the bill’s purpose is to supply coordinating language needed for appropriations in House Bill 2 and to remove ambiguities that produced inconsistent calculations when analysts interpreted the community college funding formula. The changes include explicit wording so analysts from the Commissioner of Higher Education, legislative fiscal staff and the budget office will compute identical numbers when the algebraic formula is applied.

Beatty walked the committee through sections of the bill: clarifying weighted full‑time equivalents and how a factor is applied, reversing or adjusting payments when community college enrollment projections differ from final counts, and increasing the payment rate a tribal college receives for educating non‑beneficiary (non‑tribal) students from the $3,280 level set in 2015 to $4,183 (an inflationary adjustment). The bill also includes interim work for the Education Interim Budget Committee: a study of the state library’s interlibrary loan program and courier coverage, an organizational study of the Office of Public Instruction, monitoring of OPI’s database modernization and related IT projects, review of the Montana Digital Academy frontier learning lab, assessment of the Commissioner of Higher Education’s repatriation support team OTO program, and monitoring of an initiative at the School for the Deaf and Blind to recruit educational interpreters.

Beatty emphasized the companion bill’s coordinating function and said amendments would likely be needed to align HB 864 with other bills still under consideration (including bills on debt service/major maintenance and the STARS Act). Jenny Stapp, representing the State Library, and other informational witnesses were available to answer questions. No formal committee vote on HB 864 was recorded in the transcript portion provided; the sponsor said he anticipates executive action later in the week once companion bill text is formally dropped and amendments are prepared.

","Representative Dave Beatty presented House Bill 864, a companion Section E bill that clarifies the community college funding formula, updates tribal college payments, and directs interim studies and reporting requirements for education programs and projects.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6100450,"Committee advances bill to fund K–12 digital toolkit with four-year sunset",1889,323000,2212000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac&start=323&end=2212","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2813575-cc72a756f19b52b850831556adb4d9ac/thumbnail_323000.jpg","/articles/6100450/Montana/Committee-advances-bill-to-fund-K12-digital-toolkit-with-four-year-sunset","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6100450-fc4bed50245859ceb91cd09d90f4614e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771158091&Signature=fqdy1R0OuVFGph5fS8do4NWjcyyJ3R9ZtizN0~w6kcKjcpQftUyMSbO7zEeEGcOuvOAryJwj4vhQNxS5x9zv1TWekvD6EDpwe9ETPPNSSEt8pDDlPWdwfITZAmZU1loDUVij~s2ty~3SSDKo79WoDsdYTLC81xk7xyJsvBolenDKJCn3isCfxiarQJloiy7HzzMs~5U~ekcMVIgZgS3QRDZQxBoKXBl0VaUt-oIJaEy0dQOKz5Xjnxn5xmEpKSac5YfzWqpfKCpLfOAtqrpTqQMDVsyXA3BYekxA-XujJlqtQLYxrQ3Nk9Ar3jnJgCrTs5LBBp9jdEQbcBy-IruoZA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Montana legislative committee on Friday advanced House Bill 861, which would appropriate state funding to provide statewide access to a K–12 digital toolkit for Montana school districts, and attached a four‑year sunset to the appropriation.

Supporters told the committee the toolkit — widely used in the state after purchase with federal ESSER COVID relief funds — supplies searchable, standards‑aligned instructional resources and career exploration content that rural and small districts lack. Committee members adopted an amendment to terminate the appropriation after four years, then voted to recommend the bill for passage.

Proponents said the toolkit functions as supplemental material teachers may use but are not required to adopt. Representative Dustin Tillman, sponsor of House Bill 861, told the committee the resource reaches many rural schools and that 76% of Montana school districts have signed up to use the toolkit, with potential access for about 15,000 students and “over 40,000 curriculum and supplemental resources.” Rob Watson, who identified himself as representing school administrators and the Coalition of Advocates for Montana’s Public Schools, said the state purchase allowed cost savings and that the example toolkit previously used was paid for with ESSER funds. Watson also ascribed per‑student and per‑teacher cost figures cited by witnesses: “about $10 a kid” for access or roughly $366 per teacher based on current users.

Other proponents included David Smith, executive director of the Montana Contractors Association, who said industry‑aligned, digital career and technical education content helps students learn trade and CTE skills; Kim Popham of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, who noted the toolkit’s benefit to early‑career teachers; Katie Bluggett, legislative liaison for the Office of Public Instruction (OPI), who said OPI would lead procurement and work with the Department of Labor and Industry on a career‑connection component; and several educators and local superintendents who described classroom uses and how the toolkit supports rural and tribal schools.

Witnesses and committee members discussed procurement and ongoing subscription costs. Multiple speakers described digital toolkits as subscription‑based cloud products: if a district or the state stops paying a subscription, access ends. Sarah Swanson, commissioner at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, described DLI’s role as related to the bill’s career‑connection piece and said her agency would pay for employer access to students as part of that component. Committee members asked whether districts would stop buying primary curriculum if the toolkit were provided; proponents and OPI staff responded that the toolkit is intended as supplemental material and not a replacement for high‑quality primary curriculum.

Concerns raised included the program’s ongoing cost and the effect of an open‑ended appropriation. Representative Dave Beatty asked the sponsor about adding a sunset; the sponsor agreed to a four‑year, one‑time‑only (OTO) sunset amendment, which the committee approved by voice vote. The committee then voted to give HB 861 a do‑pass recommendation as amended.

Ending notes: the committee recorded its voice and roll call votes after the amendment was adopted; the roll call shows the bill passed out of committee with 20 voting yes and 3 voting no.

","The committee heard testimony supporting statewide access to a K–12 digital toolkit that districts have used under ESSER funding, added a four‑year sunset, and gave the bill a do‑pass recommendation.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: committee advances multiple bills including HB 861, HB 313 and HB 456

Sponsor outlines companion Section E bill to clarify higher‑education funding formulas and set interim studies

Committee advances bill to fund K–12 digital toolkit with four-year sunset