Montana bill would require foreign agent registration and reporting

A covered person would have had to register with the secretary of state and pay a $150 fee. It covers an individual present in Montana who acts for a foreign government, foreign corporation, or foreign school while interacting with a state or local government or public education official or employee. Registration would not be required for foreign government employees conducting official business through their embassy for diplomatic meetings, or for lawyers representing a registered foreign agent in a civil or criminal case. The proposed effective date was July 1, 2025.

Registered people would have had to file monthly reports, and the secretary of state would have posted them online. These reporting rules would apply to people registered as foreign agents under the proposed requirements. Reports would have to list meetings with public officials, meeting costs, policy education or advocacy, political contributions, and money, gifts, or other compensation received. Reports would have been due monthly for as long as the person remained registered.

People who missed or falsified required filings could have faced fines; prosecutors could bring cases, and the secretary of state would have had to run a whistleblower hotline. These rules would apply to people required to register or report under the proposed foreign agent requirements. Failing to register within five business days would carry a fine of at least $25,000 per violation. A monthly report over 10 business days late would carry a fine of at least $15,000 per late or missing report; falsifying or knowingly filing incomplete or inaccurate information would carry a fine of at least $100,000. A whistleblower's identity would be hidden from the public and the reported person, but shared with prosecutors. A whistleblower whose information led to a conviction would receive 50% of the resulting fines. Prosecutors would decide whether to bring a case.

A corporation doing business in Montana would have been barred from state or local business incentives if it was from a listed foreign adversary country or had an owner from one with at least a 5% stake. The restriction would apply to corporations doing business in Montana, including U.S.-based corporations with an owner from a listed country holding at least 5%. The covered countries would be those identified as foreign adversaries under the federal regulation cited in the bill. The incentive definition, as amended in the page image, covers a tax credit, deduction, grant, or loan offered conditionally by the state or a local government to a corporation doing business in Montana. The proposed effective date was July 1, 2025.