Representative Curtis Schomer, House District 48, opened the hearing on House Bill 703, saying the bill would set guidelines for how climate analysis is conducted under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and give the state discretion about whether to perform greenhouse‑gas evaluations.

Schomer said the Montana Supreme Court had ruled the blanket prohibition on evaluating greenhouse gases unconstitutional and described HB 703 as a response that “ensures the state has the discretion to develop a MEPA review without being second guessed by the courts.” He said the bill would avoid requiring Montana taxpayers to pay for reviews of emission sources the state cannot regulate.

An opponent identified in the hearing as Miss Hedges argued the bill would reinsert language that several other pending MEPA bills are removing and questioned the section that would bar analyses of emissions “from beyond Montana’s borders.” Hedges said federal law already limits state authority over vehicle emissions and other sources and warned the proposed language could conflict with the Supreme Court’s recent decision and ongoing legislation that explicitly preserves consideration of out‑of‑state pollution.

Sonya Nowakowski, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, testified as an informational witness and said DEQ does not generally regulate appliances or vehicles and therefore does not expect HB 703 to directly affect the department’s permitting actions. On the provision about sources “beyond the state’s borders,” Nowakowski said the language is unclear and appears tied to motor‑vehicle regulation; she noted related issues are being addressed in other MEPA bills.

Committee members asked whether the bill would prevent baseline analyses needed to evaluate impacts to Montana if out‑of‑state sources cannot be considered. Schomer said the bill preserves the option to conduct evaluations but aims to return discretion to the Legislature. Nowakowski said she read the section as being specific to certain activities and said other MEPA legislation addresses related questions.

The sponsor closed by reiterating his position that Montana should not be required to spend taxpayer funds analyzing emissions from sources it cannot control and said he would ask for a due‑pass vote.

This was a hearing; no committee vote on HB 703 was recorded during the transcript.