Montana
Second home tax, other property tax relief bills clear the House
A trio of major property tax relief bills — Gov. Greg Gianforte’s flagship effort to pull down homeowner property taxes by boosting taxes on second homes and two other measures pitched by Democrats — passed the Montana House with bipartisan votes Thursday, advancing to the state Senate.
Gianforte’s bill, House Bill 231, was amended by the House Appropriations Committee last week in an effort to win the Democratic votes necessary to overcome opposition from some Republicans. It ultimately passed the House on a 68-30 margin. The bill’s supporters, including sponsor Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, also fended off floor amendments brought by Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, that would have rewritten the measure wholesale.
The two Democratic bills forwarded to the Senate include House Bill 155, an alternative to the Gianforte-Jones bill that aims to rebalance the state property tax system without singling out homes that aren’t being used as primary residences. The other is House Bill 154, which would offer homeowners and renters an income tax credit to help offset their property tax bills.
Separately, the Montana Senate gave support with a 50-0 preliminary vote Wednesday to a property tax measure that would divert some lodging tax dollars to a permanent tax relief fund. That measure, Senate Bill 90, has been amended to remove earlier provisions that would have defunded state tourism promotion efforts. It’s been cited as a preferred option by some Republicans who dislike aspects of the Gianforte-Jones measure, including Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell.
Several other property tax proposals have also been proposed by lawmakers so far this year, including a measure that would permit local option sales taxes to offset property taxes, address a loophole that allows luxury homes to qualify for agricultural tax breaks, constrain the growth of local government revenues, make it harder to pass property tax levies, and rework the rates that translate market-rate property values to the taxable values used for tax bills.
Both the Gianforte-Jones bill and the Democratic alternative, HB 155, dial down the taxable value conversion rates for residential properties, making a smaller share of home values subject to the property tax math that divvies up the cost of schools, law enforcement and other local services. Both employ a tiered rate structure that focuses savings on lower-value properties and includes provisions intended to shield small businesses as taxes are shifted off homes and onto other classes of property.
In an effort to minimize how much its residential tax relief shifts taxes onto farms and business properties, the Gianforte-Jones bill also divides the state’s current residential tax category into homes that are and aren’t primary residences, taxing owner-occupied homes and long-term rental properties at lower rates than second-homes and Airbnb-style short-term rentals. Jones and the governor have justified that distinction by arguing that second homeowners often don’t pay the Montana income taxes that fund most of the cost of state-level public services.
Opponents of the governor-backed bill have argued that taxing second homes could produce a situation where Montana residents are saddled with untenable taxes on a longtime family vacation home. They also note that the state would have to ask homeowners and landlords to file applications in order to claim the lower tax rate.
While the bill specifies that an initial eligibility list would be based on homeowners who received property tax rebates following the 2023 session, opponents are worried that the application requirement would leave eligible property owners who miss the memo saddled with higher taxes.
Debating the Gianforte-Jones bill on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, drew a comparison to the state’s Medicaid redetermination process, where she said tens of thousands of people lost their state-managed health coverage as a result of procedural issues.
“My concern is that we may have a similar experience with this application process for people who didn’t get the rebate,” Caferro said.
Jones said that the state would be able to offer a simple one-time, one-page application. “Once you’re signed up as a homeowner, then you’ll be able to remain signed up until there’s a change in the property,” he said.
Falk made a similar argument as he pushed to amend the bill so it would avoid the second home distinction, saying a simpler measure would avoid a “crazy application process.”
Jones argued the nature of Montana’s tax system means lowering taxes on one type of property isn’t possible without “squeezing the balloon” onto another type of property — making the effort to collect extra revenue from second homes a vital part of the governor’s proposal.
“This is a difficult problem to make work — you have to have a revenue source,” Jones said. “This wasn’t the executive or the governor’s idea — until I forced them to model this, they didn’t think it would work either.”
The second Democratic bill, HB 154, would create an income tax credit that offsets property taxes for middle- and lower-income homeowners and renters, specifying that renters can attribute 15% of their rent bill to taxes. Its sponsor, Rep. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula, has argued that tying property and income taxes together would make Montana’s tax system more responsive to individual circumstances.
“Unlike income taxes, property taxes don’t adjust based on means, or adjust when hard times hit,” Karlen said during Wednesday’s floor debate.
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Property taxes, explained — with pictures
Property values have risen dramatically in Montana, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you (or your landlord) will pay higher property taxes. If you want to know why, read our property tax explainer — with pictures.
Karlen and other Democrats also say a tax credit that includes renters would address their concern that under other bills landlords would either be left out of tax relief efforts or pocket any savings. Jones, in contrast, has argued that market competition will force landlords to pass the savings onto their tenants.
The Karlen bill’s journey across the House floor, where it passed 59-39, was boosted by a coordination clause added to the Gianforte-Jones measure as its backers sought to win Democratic votes. That clause, which could be removed by the Senate, specifies an additional rate discount for lower-value homes if the tax credit bill fails to make it to the governor’s desk.
House Minority Leader Katie Sullivan acknowledged in a press conference this week that tying the governor’s key policy proposal to a Democratic priority bill was “confusing,” but said it was consistent with the caucus’s efforts to advance proposals that it believes provide relief for working Montanans.
”We really are just trying to move more than just one bill through this process and continue a conversation,” Sullivan said. “And sometimes we do weird things to make that happen.”
The other Democratic bill, the explicit alternative to Gianforte-Jones bill, passed its final House vote this week 68-30.
Zeke Lloyd contributed reporting.
A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists…
A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists out of the party ranks.
Lewis and Clark County District Judge Michael F. McMahon issued the restraining order Wednesday morning. The order had been requested by county precinct committees and officers suing the state party organization over the new bylaws. The plaintiffs are the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee, the Choteau County Republican Central Committee, and individual committee members Jeff Essmann, Ted Kronebusch, James Wilson and state Rep. Brad Barker, R-Red Lodge.
At issue are bylaws passed during MTGOP’s June platform convention that the litigating party members say amount to “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” The new bylaws require members to pay $20 in annual membership dues and pledge a loyalty oath, and subject members to removal from elected party positions for nonpayment of dues or for “conduct deemed inconsistent with party purposes,” as determined by executive party party officers. The new bylaws allow charges for removal to be brought by any 20 official Republican Party members.
Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich, the only official spokesperson for the state party, has not responded to voicemails and texts sent to his cell phone Wednesday. Wittich, elected party chairman in June 2025, has long been emphatic about exposing “Democrats disguised as Republicans” — for Wittich a now decade-old battle that spun into a bitter multimillion-dollar war between party hardliners and relative centrists in this spring’s Republican legislative primaries.
The centrists drew the ire of the hardliners in 2025 by collaborating with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and legislative Democrats to pass a balanced state budget and key pieces of legislation, including increased taxes on second homes and property tax reductions for primary residences and small businesses.
What constitutes disqualifying conduct isn’t fully spelled out in the bylaws, but they do specify that “collaborating with Democrats” in the Legislature, the governor’s office, the courts, or elections can get members disciplined or removed.
The lawsuit alleges that “The 2026 bylaws empower a small group within the party to revoke Republican affiliation from candidates or office holders, undoing primary nominations by the electorate.”
The plaintiffs argue that Montana voters, not party bylaws, should determine who represents the Republican Party in general elections and who represents voting precincts on the publicly elected county-level Republican committees that coordinate local political activity.
The Montana Legislature in 2019 passed a bill protecting publicly elected party precinct committee officers from being arbitrarily removed from office and defined attempts to do so as “fraudulent and corrupt practices.” That law, sparked by Republican Party infighting 10 years ago, is the foundation of the current lawsuit.
There has been a surge of public interest in Republican precinct-level politics following a perceived lack of support by party hardliners for Republican candidates in conservative strongholds like Flathead County, where more than 60 new precinct committeemen and committeewomen were elected in June. That wave of new officers was preceded by Flathead County Republican Central Committee members considering an endorsement of Libertarian Sid Daoud for Kalispell mayor over Republican Kisa Davison in late 2025. The Kalispell mayor’s race is nonpartisan, but Republicans have gone to court to secure the party’s right to endorse candidates in nonpartisan races.
Wittich’s own campaign for precinct committeeman representing Whitefish was a casualty of that new wave of public interest. He lost to Republican Giuseppe “G-man” Caltabiano, who serves on the Whitefish City Council.
Caltabiano’s wife, Roxanne Ross, defeated Candace Wittich, wife of the Republican chair, in the same election.
State law gives precinct officers two-year terms and specifies that they can be removed only for death, written resignation or loss of residency. The new bylaws state that participation in party governance, including service as a precinct official, “is a privilege of association, not a right conferred by public office or candidacy. Members must act in good faith to support the Party’s purpose and must not engage in conduct materially inconsistent with the Party’s interests, including conduct that undermines its platform, policy positions, election operations, or internal governance.”
The recent changes to the party bylaws allow precinct officeholders to be suspended from voting in party matters and replaced by party leadership for noncompliance. Empty precinct seats can be filled by the Republican Party chair.
“Every Republican candidate sells their version of Republicanism to the people in a primary campaign, and the voter chooses which version to buy,” the lawsuit states. “The party cannot dictate what brands of Republicanism are on the market.”
Former MTGOP chair Jeff Essmann, a plaintiff who is also a long-serving precinct officer, said in his affidavit that members of the Republican State Central Committee weren’t given a required notification about attempts to amend the bylaws. He said he would have attended the platform convention and argued against amending the bylaws if he had known.
“The 2026 Bylaws empower any twenty members of the Party to recommend any other member of the Party for expulsion from the party, to be determined by the State Central Committee, even people who do not reside in Yellowstone County and who have never met me,” Essmann said in the affidavit.
Other central committee members produced pre-convention emails about potential changes to the bylaws, but no details about the amendments.
In issuing the order, McMahon indicated that Republicans challenging the bylaws are likely to succeed. He set a July 13 hearing on whether to make the order permanent.
“Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the challenged provisions are inconsistent with Montana election law and constitutional protections governing candidacy, nomination, speech, association, due process, and elected precinct committee representatives,” McMahon ruled.
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This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing
12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing
17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing
03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing
06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing
08-16-17-22-27
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing
16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.
This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.
Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.
The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.
NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.
“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.
According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.
“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.
The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.
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