Almost a year after its passage, the Montana GOP fight is intensifying over Gov. Greg Gianforte’s property tax legislation package — a signature policy effort to reduce property taxes for primary residences and long-term rentals, in part by raising rates on others.
The governor’s office on Monday petitioned the Montana Supreme Court to take up a case filed in state District Court in Bozeman in January by a group of Republican lawmakers who voted against the property tax bills during the 2025 session.
If the higher court assumes jurisdiction of the lawsuit, Gianforte said, the court could answer the legal questions about the constitutionality of Senate Bill 542, one bill central to the administration’s property tax effort. Among other questions, Gianforte’s office asked the court to affirm that SB 542 met the constitutional requirement that legislation be limited to a single subject properly aligned with a bill’s title.