Montana lawmakers in the House voted against a bill that proposed establishing a Bitcoin reserve for the state.
By a margin of 41-59, Montana’s House of Representatives rejected the bill for a state Bitcoin reserve.
On February 22, legislators in the House defeated the bill to establish Bitcoin as a reserve asset for Montana because many of them worried about potential taxpayer fund speculation.
With a final vote of 41-59, House Bill No. 429 failed to pass, as many Republicans opposed it.
The bill proposed creating a revenue account to invest in digital assets, stablecoins, and precious metals while restricting eligibility to those with an average market cap above $750 billion in the last year—a requirement that only Bitcoin currently meets.
“It’s still taxpayer money, and we’re responsible for it, and we need to protect it,” State Representative Steven Kelly said during Montana’s Feb. 22 House Floor Session, adding that “these types of investments are way too risky.”
Representative Bill Mercer opposed granting Montana’s Board of Investments the flexibility to invest in digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
“I did not come here to do that,” he said, while another lawmaker added, “This smacks of speculation to me.”
Representative Demming countered by arguing that Montana should prioritize maximizing taxpayer returns and suggested that the bill might have taken a step in that direction.
“If we’re going to keep the taxpayer’s money, I think we owe it to the taxpayers to get as high a return on that money that’s sitting in there, either that or you give it right back to them, so I’m going to vote on this bill for that reason.”
“The only thing that is risky is not passing this bill,” said the sponsor of the bill, Curtis Schomer, highlighting that Montana’s investment board would lose purchasing power by continuing to invest in bonds.
Representative Steve Fitzpatrick noted that Montana’s investment board accounts currently hold a large sum of unused money, and he believes investing in digital assets and precious metals would put those funds to better use.
“We can make a return to the taxpayer and ultimately that will allow us to give more money back, to cut taxes, and provide that fiscal relief that people are looking for.”
Some House members supported House Bill No. 429 but requested additional amendments.
Just days before, on February 19, the Montana business and labor committee approved House Bill No. 429 in a 12-8 decision, with Republicans unanimously supporting it and Democrats fully opposing it.
The defeat of House Bill No. 429 eliminates its viability, and lawmakers must introduce a new bill to pursue the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve in Montana.
Among the 24 states that have proposed Bitcoin reserve legislation are Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Texas.
According to Bitcoin Laws, legislative efforts remain active in 20 of the 24 states that initially introduced Bitcoin reserve bills.
No U.S. state has advanced a Bitcoin reserve bill further than Utah, where the HB230 “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments” passed the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on February 20.
The bill now moves forward to the next stages, requiring two more readings before the Senate holds a final vote.
