HB418 would allow the state to take steps toward opening up roads in protected public lands by designating historical rights-of-way as public “highways.” These Revised Statute 2477 roads or “hoax highways” are not roads in any real sense – they’re overgrown cowpaths, forgotten two-tracks, and long-disused paths, some dating as far back as 1866. They don’t lead to schools, hospitals, or workplaces, and they often run through Wilderness, National Parks, or other protected areas. If the state declared these forgotten routes to be “highways,” it would nullify or diminish long-standing protections for national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, and other scenic landscapes. It would slam the door on the future protection of these remarkable public lands. And it would result in unending legal battles from those who want to open “roads” through public and private lands. RS2477 – Died 50-50 in House

NO

HB320 was a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing bill that would have paved the way for large-scale land transfer, a defeated and discredited idea that would have crippled public access and cost Montana taxpayers millions. The bill – a carbon copy of a bill written by the American Lands Council, the biggest advocate of land transfer – was an attempt to lay the groundwork for selling off our public lands by making transfer seem palatable. If it had passed, any future legislature could simply introduce a new law to sell the public lands that had been transferred into state ownership, which would be inevitable given the prohibitive cost – an estimated $355 million annually – of managing Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in Montana. Passed House. Died in Senate Natural Resources Committee.

NO

HB637 provided unlimited outfitter-sponsored big game hunting licenses to rich nonresidents, putting those who can pay to play ahead of working-class Montanans. The bill also allowed wealthy nonresidents who book with outfitters to get two preference points rather than one, like everyone else. Signed into law by Governor Gianforte. *Note: Our vote tally uses the Free Conference Committee Report adoption vote.

NO

HB701 directs revenue from recreational marijuana sales to several popular but underfunded conservation initiatives, including those that protect critical wildlife habitat, increase public land access, and fund State Parks and trails. Funding for these programs was included in the two referendums passed by Montanans to legalize recreational marijuana, and this bill largely reflects the will of the voters as expressed in those two popular referendums. Signed into law by Governor Gianforte. *Note: Our vote tally uses the 3rd reading in the Senate and 2nd reading in the House as we believe those most accurately represent the views of the legislators. 

YES

SB115 requires the Montana Land Board to approve all conservation easements purchased by the state of Montana that are at least 500 acres or valued at more than $1 million. This would make it harder for willing landowners to conserve their lands and provide public access and adds an unnecessary and politicized layer of red tape to the easement process. It will put important conservation and access decisions in the hands of bureaucrats instead of experts. And it could stop once-in-a-lifetime conservation opportunities before they start. Signed into law by Governor Gianforte.

NO

HB707 was a bill to take tens of millions in tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales away from the programs that Montana voters had directed them to go toward, including public land access, state parks, and trails, and wildlife habitat as well as critical services like addiction treatment and assistance for military veterans. Instead, HB707 would have put the money in the state’s general fund, where the legislature could direct at will. This bill died in the House.

NO

SJ7 called on Congress to eliminate the Hidden Pasture Creek Wilderness Study Area near Dell. Similar to other resolutions to eliminate Wilderness Study Areas, this was an attempt to do an end run around Montanans and push unpopular, top-down approaches, despite the fact that the legislature’s own Environmental Quality Council emphasized collaborative solutions. Passed House and Senate. Resolutions do not go to the Governor.

NO