HELENA — With the Montana Legislature’s 69^th session now officially at a close, leaders have been looking back at what they got done over the last four months.

(Watch the video for more reactions to the end of the 2025 legislative session.)

In 85 working days, the Legislature ended up passing more than 800 bills, advancing them to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk.

“We've handled more bills this session than any session before, following our constitutional convention,” said Senate President Sen. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, during a news conference after the Legislature adjourned Wednesday.

On Thursday afternoon, Gianforte held his first public bill signing after the session wrapped up, officially approving a slate of bills revising Montana’s environmental laws in response to last year’s ruling in the Held v. Montana climate lawsuit.

“We were left with uncertainty by the Supreme Court's decision,” Gianforte said. “We've tightened up those loopholes, and this will make it easier to issue permits while protecting the environment at the same time, without adding undue red tape.”

Gov. Greg Gianforte signs a bill revising Montana's environmental laws in response to the Held court decision, May 1, 2025.

The environmental bills were among the top achievements House and Senate Republican leaders named when summing up the session. They also touted things like a reduction in income tax rates, millions of dollars in funding for state prisons, and standing up for conservative values on issues like gender transition.

“We do have a lot of accomplishments,” said Regier. “I think the Senate, despite a lot of adversity has really risen to the occasion.”

There were differences between Senate and House Republicans when it comes to property tax reform and the state budget. Regier and other Senate Republican leaders criticized the eventual property tax plan the Legislature passed as a “rearrangement” of taxes rather than substantive relief, and they argued the Legislature should have done much more to trim government spending. House Republican leadership said the property tax and budget bills were imperfect, but that lawmakers had stll done good work with them.

Senate President Sen. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, spoke at a news conference after adjournment of the Montana Legislature's 69th session, April 30, 2025.

House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, said those major bills had to be compromises in order to get a majority in the House and Senate and approval from the governor.

“I think what we managed to do was find those areas where we could find agreement to get 51 and 26 and 1, and that's ultimately what this is about,” he said.

Republican leaders made overhauling the judiciary a major priority this year. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, said about six or seven of the 27 bills proposed by a Republican-led committee investigating the judicial branch made it to the governor. He said those bills were “a great foundation” for increasing judicial transparency and accountability.

However, two of the biggest proposals – creating a new government claims court to handle constitutional lawsuits and allowing judicial candidates to campaign with political party labels – didn’t move forward. House Speaker Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, told reporters after adjournment that there had been late discussions about Gianforte attempting to bring back a proposal to allow partisan judicial candidates through an amendatory veto. In the end, that final attempt didn’t happen.

“It was a push that the majority of the caucus wanted – there was always a few, and I respect their opinions, but I wasn't going to give up on it easy,” Ler said. “So it was always kind of an ace in the hole that just didn't quite play out.”

House Speaker Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, addresses the House just before their adjournment sine die, April 30, 2025.

Legislative Democrats pointed to the defeat of partisan judicial elections as one of their biggest goals – and successes – for the session.

“The Republicans brought 27 bills to take over and dismantle our courts, and we killed 21 of them,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, at a news conference. “We killed the worst one, in our opinion – which is partisanship into judicial elections – not once, but at least five separate times.”

Democrats also celebrated bills that made additional investments into education funding and child care. Another particular success they pointed to was the elimination of the sunset date for Montana’s Medicaid expansion program.

“That sends a clear message to the governor and to Washington, D.C.: Montanans expect and demand the health care coverage they get through the Medicaid program,” said Senate Minority Leader Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade (left), speaks at legislative Democrats' post-session news conference, as House Minority Leader Rep. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula (right) and Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena (center), look on, April 30, 2025.

Democrats remained a minority at the Legislature this year, but held a larger share of seats than in 2023 – 60 instead of 48. Leaders said that made a difference.

“It has been because of the 12 more seats we've had in this building the Democrats have been able to bring these issues to the table, and the final product has been much better,” Sullivan said.

As of Thursday evening, 219 bills from the 2025 Legislature have been signed into law. Another 597 have passed the Legislature and will be on their way to Gianforte’s desk.

A bill has to be signed by the speaker of the House and president of the Senate before it officially goes to the governor. Gianforte will then have ten days to sign or veto them. If he takes no action, the bill will become law without his signature.

For bills that appropriate state money – including House Bill 2, the main state budget bill – the governor has the authority to use a “line-item veto”: vetoing only specific sections in the bill while letting the rest become law.