2023 MTLeg Halftime Report
"Legislators are so far delivering on some serious limited government policies of fiscal responsibility, economic freedom and red tape relief."
It’s official, we’ve reached the halfway point in Montana’s 2023 Legislative Session. I can report that our legislators are so far delivering on some serious limited government policies of fiscal responsibility, economic freedom and red tape relief.
Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the biggest reforms we are tracking that expand our freedoms and limit the size and scope of government:
Healthcare
The legislature has advanced at least eight proposals aimed at addressing healthcare workforce shortages by eliminating occupational licensure red tape.
HB 152, a bill from Governor Gianforte’s Red Tape Relief Initiative, follows Frontier Institute’s recommendations to make permanent the successful COVID-era emergency measures to streamline occupational licensure. Frontier testified in support of this bill during its first committee hearing.
Another bill aimed at addressing healthcare shortages is SB 112, which will fill gaps in our healthcare system by providing pharmacists with greater authority to treat and care for patients under their license. Frontier President & CEO, Kendall Cotton’s testimony in support of SB 112 garnered the attention of the media, which later showed his testimony on NBC Montana.
Housing
After our most recent Montana Zoning Atlas report demonstrated how Montana’s most in-demand cities and counties have implemented California-Style zoning leading to expensive, sprawling communities, we worked with lawmakers to return property rights back to Montanans.
Aimed at providing landowners more freedom to build starter homes in Montana cities, SB 323 and SB 245 sailed through the Senate with overwhelming support from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Another bill, SB 382 takes a comprehensive approach to tackling strict California-style zoning regulations, by ensuring cities are planning for the future and providing landowners the freedom they need to build homes. SB 382 also sailed through the Senate with bipartisan support.
Education
The legislature has advanced several proposals to empower parents with more choice in their child’s education. Two dueling bills authorizing public charter schools have been making significant progress. To better understand these two bills check out our analysis here.
Another bill from Rep. Sue Vinton expands education opportunities for Montana families by doubling the cap for tax credit scholarships, funding innovative education programs in schools and more education options for disadvantaged students.
Tax Relief
The 2023 Legislature has already sent a package of bills to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk representing the largest tax cut in Montana history. These tax measures are the fruit of the legislature’s past commitment to fiscally conservative budgeting that we championed in 2021, which made room for this historic tax relief.
While these bills are great reforms, they are far from the only good reforms coming out of the 2023 session. Our MTLeg Halftime Report shows that a variety of Key Bills are still in the process of being passed.
While this is just the halfway point, the 2023 Legislature is already shaping up to be a big win for reforms that rely on more freedom, not more government. As these bills make it over the finish line, I’ll be sure to keep you updated.
For Liberty,
Tanner Avery
Red Tape Relief Half-Time Report
In the chart below, I break down the progress of bill proposals from the Red Tape Relief Initiative. This chart shows where these bills are in the law-making process. As bills make progress in the legislature they keep moving right until they are signed into law.
Of the 83 Red Tape Relief bill proposals we identified ahead of the 2023 legislative session, 66 were actually introduced. 59 have either passed both legislative houses or are still in process. Seven bills are considered dead after they did not make it out of committee or failed a floor vote. These bill proposals are divided into three categories: Especially Burdensome Impact On Small Business, Modernize Outdated Regulation and Repeal Unnecessary Regulation.