Exploring The Controversy Behind Montana House Bill 413

Montanans Want Non-Residents Out Of Our State's Business

It's easy for this born-and-raised-under-the-Big-Sky Montana girl to understand how House Bill 413 passed in Montana's legislature. Seriously, I sort of like this and I think it's sort of a good start in getting out of state shenanigans out of Montana's legislature.

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We're also not the first state to do this.

What Is Montana House Bill 413?

From the Daily Montanan, House Bill 413:

 adds definitions to a section of Montana law related to residency requirements for voters and candidates for the Legislature. The law currently states that individuals cannot gain residency in a county if they are there for “temporary purposes, without the intention of making that county the individual’s home.”

HB 413 was introduced by Representative Jane Gillette, Republican from Three Forks. The language in the bill sets temporary purposes as temporary work (like travelling nurses), training, or educational programs (like college).

Why House Bill 413 Is Headed To Court

It's simply too vague, and there's another problem.

HB 413 requires college students, who may live here for years, to declare where they will live upon receiving their degree from one of Montana's universities. A task that is fraught with uncertainty, and could leave them with no voice in Montana elections. Plus, it's just weird.

I have to wonder why our legislature would include students on this. When you are living at least 9 months of the year in one place, and you are 18 years old or older, you deserve to have a say in what goes on where you are LIVING. You just do.

One might think it was deliberate to keep people who are assumed to be of a certain political persuasion from voting. Just sayin'.

This would be GREAT if it left out students.