Friday, March 3, was the crossover deadline in the Montana Legislature for policy focused legislation, meaning bills that do not have a revenue component must have advanced out of their house of origin to remain eligible for advancement. Below is list of bills the AKC has been monitoring and their statuses.
Bills in Montana State Legislature:
- Senate Bill 280- Revise bird dog training laws.
Status: Passed Senate Fish and Game Committee; referred to Senate Finance and Claims Committee—revenue component, not subject to March 3 deadline.
Summary: Montana Senate Bill 280 would expand the types of bird training available to game birds not raised in captivity through a low-cost licensing system. A Class D-5 license would be required costing $5 for residents and $10 for nonresidents. To clarify: a Class D-5 license would not be required for a person training bird hunting dogs with a method that kills game birds raised in captivity.
What You Can Do: If you would like to express your support for Senate Bill 280, you can do so by reaching out members of the Senate Finance and Claims Committee. You can contact the members here. If you are a constituent, be sure to mention that when contacting them (Click HERE to find out who your senator is).
- House Bill 703- Revise housing laws related to emotional support animals.
Status: Bill passed the House; awaiting committee referral in the Senate
Summary: Currently, Montana does not have any state laws regarding the regulation of emotional support animals and rental housing. This bill allows a landlord to request certain supporting information regarding a tenant’s need for an emotional support animal.
What You Can Do: If you have any comments, please direct them to the bill sponsor, Representative Denley Lodge at (406) 544-5220 or Denley.Loge@legmt.gov. If you are a constituent of Rep. Lodge, please make sure to include that in your communication. Click HERE to find out who your representative is.
- House Bill 623- Establish penalties for negligent injury or death of service animals.
Status: Tabled in Human Services Committee, will not move forward.
Summary: This bill defined what constituted as harm to a service animal. The proposal would have established misdemeanor penalties for harassing or harming an owner’s service animal along with establishing financial responsibility on those convicted to compensate the victim.
What You Can Do: No action required.
- House Bill 677- Revise bird hunting season laws related bird dog training.
Status: Tabled in Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee, will not move forward.
Summary: This bill would have put date limitations on when bird dog training could be conducted by professional dog handlers on public lands.
What You Can Do: No action required.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor bills in Montana impacting dog owners and will provide updates. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.