Montana
Sex-segregated bathroom bill clears key House vote
House lawmakers in the Montana Legislature on Wednesday preliminarily approved a bill that requires bathroom and sleeping-area use based on a person’s chromosomes and reproductive biology.
In a party-line vote, 58 legislators in the Republican-majority chamber affirmed House Bill 121 over 42 opponents. The bill requires one more vote to advance to the Senate.
Critics have cast the measure as an unenforceable restriction on transgender people and those whose appearance doesn’t clearly match stereotypical gender presentations.
Supporters, including sponsor Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, have mostly sidestepped the mention of trans people when talking about the bill’s impact, arguing that it will generally help protect women from men who enter restrooms and dormitories with a predatory intent.
“This bill is not about discrimination. It’s about protecting those things that have been eroding these last few years for women,” Seekins-Crowe said. “All this bill is asking for is reasonable accommodations.”
HB 121 would require public facilities, such as schools and prisons, and some private facilities, including domestic violence shelters, to provide multi-user restrooms and dormitories for the “exclusive use” of males and females. The bill’s definitions of sex are based on a person’s XX or XY chromosomes and their production of eggs or sperm.
Another provision in the bill would also allow any individual who “encounters another individual of the opposite sex in the restroom or changing room” to sue the offending facility or organization within two years of the event. The bill would go into effect immediately upon being signed into law.
Opponents raised a slew of concerns about enforceability during the bill’s first committee hearing in early January, including how a facility with multi-user restrooms, changing rooms or dorms can confirm a person’s chromosomal or reproductive makeup. Critics also flagged the potential costs for local municipalities and how the right to legal action could encourage vigilante enforcement of sex-segregated public bathroom use.
The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee in a party-line vote on Monday, with Democrats raising similar concerns voiced by the legislation’s opponents.
Members of the minority party again sought to convince Republican lawmakers of the measure’s impact during the Wednesday floor debate.
“‘This is not an issue,’ is what was said again and again by the people impacted on the ground,” said Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, who sits on the House committee. Rather than making cisgender women feel more safe, Zephyr posed that the proposal would only interfere with the daily routines of trans people. “To me, trans people walk through the state of Montana afraid enough already. And we want to be able to live our lives in peace,” she said.
Some Republicans who occasionally vote with Democrats on other issues, including Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, and Rep. Brad Barker, R-Roberts, said they shared concerns about the bill’s enforceability and cost for cities and towns. But both lawmakers voted to move the measure forward, suggesting that some of those issues could be resolved through amendments in the Montana Senate.
Other supporters described the bill as a necessary step to secure public places against bad actors who pose as trans to gain access to vulnerable places.
“Because of the destruction of societal customs, any predator or person with malicious intent can more easily invade private female spaces without calling attention to themselves,” said Rep. Fiona Nave, R-Columbus.
Opponents said such circumstances are based more on fear than reality, and that similar bills in other states have often opened the door to harassment toward people who appear to be transgender, regardless of their actions.
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday also said the bill oversteps the Legislature’s role by policing people’s presence rather than their actions. Any criminal conduct in the affected spaces, including harassment and assault, is already illegal, said Rep. SJ Howell, R-Missoula.
“It is appropriate for us as a body to legislate harmful behavior. It is not appropriate to legislate people existing,” Howell said. “Montana values are simple. Love thy neighbor. Mind thy business. This bill does neither.”
At least 11 other states have passed similar bills in recent years, a legislative trend encouraged by national conservative groups. One of those groups is the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has testified in support of HB 121.
Lobbyists and lawmakers watching HB 121’s progress predict another robust committee hearing in the Senate. The bill’s first hearing stretched more than three hours, drawing testimony from almost 20 proponents and nearly 30 opponents before committee members launched into questions.
One of the lines of inquiry included the bill’s fiscal impact. A document produced by legislative staff and executive branch committees lists the known costs as zero dollars but acknowledges “potential costs associated with staffing increases, renovations of state facilities, and increased legal exposure.”
While the fiscal note says that specific costs to state agencies are “unknown” or “not currently estimable,” it forecasts that fiscal impact to local school districts could be “significant.”
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Explained: legislative committees
The Montana Legislature can be a daunting institution to keep tabs on. As the 2025 legislative session gears up, MTFP is producing a series of video and text pieces intended to help our readers track their lawmakers and make sense of the headlines they’ll see in the months to come. Today: a look legislative committees.
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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