A Montana proposal that would have allowed tribal nations to negotiate cannabis regulation individually will not be enacted this session. Governor Greg Gianforte (R) vetoed the bill on June 19, calling it “unnecessary and duplicative.”

House Bill 952 sought to address cannabis industry barriers that tribes in Montana have faced since 2021, when the state enacted HB 701. That bill limits each tribe’s licensed cannabis operations to a single location, no more than 1,000 square feet and at least 150 miles outside reservation boundaries.

HB 952 would have removed these restrictions and instead authorized each tribe to work out their own regulatory terms with the state, tailored to their own needs. It was modeled after cannabis compacts used by federally recognized Native American tribes in Washington state, according to the Montana Free Press.

“While I appreciate the intentions of the bill sponsor, [regulatory] authority already exists under the State-Tribal Cooperative Agreements Act,” Gianforte stated in a June 20 letter explaining his veto. “I also have serious concerns about the bill’s potential impact on tribal sovereignty and self-determination, as well as the government-to-government relationship between the State of Montana and tribal nations. By channeling negotiations through a new statutory process, House Bill 952 may constrain the scope and flexibility of negotiations, introduce unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and impose State priorities on tribal nations.”

The bill was sponsored by Representative Frank Smith (D), a longtime member of the Montana American Indian Caucus. This was the final legislative session before retirement for Smith, who first took office in 1999.

The governor has issued 42 vetoes this session, 10 of which are pending override.

Montana began sales of adult-use cannabis in 2022. But the industry is divided into a patchwork of “green” counties, which voted in favor of legalization, and “red” counties, which voted against it. Sales in red counties are automatically banned, unless the county decides to opt in.

“There’s tribes in the state that are wanting to move forward with manufacturing or processing, testing, distribution,” Red Medicine LLC Cofounder Patrick Yawakie, who helped draft HB 952, told the Montana Free Press and ICT in a joint interview earlier in 2025. The bill would have ensured “that there’s an opportunity for them or clarity whenever they come to the table with the state to maintain compliance with state regulations.”

Yawakie said during that interview that the bill would also help tribes restrict access to cannabis, among those that wish to do so.

Gianforte has issued 42 vetoes this session, 10 of which are pending override, according to the Montana Free Press; a two-thirds majority is required to undertake that vote. One of the 10 vetoes that could potentially be overturned is for a bill for allocating cannabis tax revenue. As of June 19 the legislature is in the process of conducting the veto-override vote by mail, as the session has adjourned.

Gianforte’s vetoes have been largely budget-related, with steep cuts that he claimed in a June 20 letter are necessary to protect constituents from unnecessary spending.

“The budget I received from the legislature wasn’t as fiscally responsible as the one I proposed,” he wrote. “We have an obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer resources, regardless of whether we are in more promising fiscal times or more challenging fiscal times. Protecting taxpayers requires us to make tough decisions, prioritizing what is necessary over what would be nice to have.”

Image (cropped) via Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board