Montana’s 68th Legislative Session ended May 2nd, 2023, but the Legislature’s work continues. Legislators and staff are gearing up for the interim, which is the period of time between the end of one regular session and the beginning of the next. This interim looks different because Senate Bill 176 requires that many committees reflect the partisan makeup of the legislature. For example, an eight-member committee will have six Republicans and two Democrats. Previously, committees were evenly split between Republican and Democratic members.

Interim work is partially guided by study resolutions passed during the previous session and are assigned to committees. However, these committees may also study any issue in the committee topic area by coordinating meetings, expert panels, and field trips. For example, in 2022, the Environmental Quality Council visited the Montana State Prison to learn about the pheasant-rearing program funded by the 67th Legislature. And in 2021, the Education Interim Committee visited Drummond Public Schools to see their locally-grown school lunches. To learn more about some of the things legislators participated in during the 2021-22 interim, visit: https://mtlegnews.gov/news/

Most interim committees oversee rulemaking and other functions of executive agencies. Throughout the course of the interim, committees receive updates from the departments and agencies they monitor. This work allows the checks-and-balance system to operate year-round in Montana government.

Toward the end of the interim, committees finalize a study report that outlines the results of the study, or studies, the committee was assigned at the start of the interim. These reports form the basis for study-related bills that will be introduced during the subsequent legislative session, but committees may also request other bills in topic areas. This interim, each committee may request four partisan bills and an unlimited number of partisan bills.

Visit the Montana Legislature website, https://leg.mt.gov/, to find agenda’s, meeting materials, and to sign up for notices.