A bill to strengthen the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act by including e-cigarettes and vape pens was signed into law earlier this month by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Sen. Willis Curdy, D-Missoula, said Monday he had worked on Senate Bill 390 for several sessions with support from youth advocates and public health workers.
“This is long overdue,” Curdy said.
The law now defines “smoking,” which is prohibited indoors, to include using an electronic smoking device, the Daily Montanan reports.
The bill was one of a couple of pieces of legislation in 2025 tied to the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act. However, Senate Bill 150, to create an exemption in the act that allowed for cigar rooms, failed in its last vote during the legislative session.
‘A matter of perseverance’
Curdy said SB 390 was near and dear to him as a former high school teacher, and he and former legislator Fred Anderson, a Great Falls Republican and school principal, had talked about the effects on youth.
“I got some support from folks — quite a bit of support from folks — who had in the past opposed the bill,” Curdy said.
He said some previous opponents came around after “an epiphany with their own health,” and others after learning about the negative health consequences of e-cigarettes and vape pens.
Curdy also said more work needs to be done to strengthen the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, and he is interested in additional legislation, although he declined to cite specifics Monday.
However, he said persistence at the Montana Legislature paid off with SB 390.
“It was a matter of perseverance,” Curdy said.
Cigar bar bill failed, but will return
After clearing the Senate, a bill that would have created an exception in the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act for cigar rooms failed in the House in its last vote after some representatives changed their votes.
Sponsored by Sen. Wylie Galt, R-Martinsdale, the bill passed the House on second reading with 51 votes, but then it failed with only 45 votes in support on third reading.
The bill was backed by the tourism and hospitality industry, and supporters argued Montana is at a disadvantage as a luxury destination because it cannot offer a place where cigar aficionados can legally smoke indoors.
Public health advocates opposed the bill, pointing to the detrimental effects of second-hand smoke. Some also alleged the bill would run contrary to an agreement made when Montana first passed the Clean Indoor Air Act in 2005, but gave bars four years to comply.
Originally, the bill would have allowed cigar bars in standalone structures, but it was amended to create an exception for cigar rooms with separate ventilation instead.
Galt said Monday he believes that change, along with an amendment that included a study related to gambling machines and opposed by the industry, might have ended up sinking the bill.
Galt has worked on the bill for many sessions, and he earlier said cigar bars are legal in many other states. He said Monday he’ll continue to pursue the opportunity for Montana.
“I do intend on running it again next session with some of the amendments we worked on,” Galt said in a text message Monday. “Tenth year may be my lucky year.”
Jackie Semmens, with the American Heart Association, had opposed SB 150 during the Montana Legislature.
Semmens said Monday that an amendment in the House Business and Labor Committee “would have essentially brought back smoking sections to Montana bars.”
But she said, “there is no safe level of second-hand smoke,” and she believes the change might have contributed to the demise of the bill.
“This really upset our members, who called their legislators to ask them to vote ‘no’ on SB 150,” said Semmens, government relations director for Montana for the association. “Montanans, by and large, don’t want to return to the days of smoking in bars.”
However, in a phone call and email, Semmens also praised the addition of e-cigarettes to the Clean Indoor Air Act.
“We believe that the addition of e-cigarettes to the Clean Indoor Air Act was an important update to the law given the youth vaping epidemic,” Semmens said. “Nicotine in any form is an addictive drug, and we want to send a clear message to youth in Montana that vaping is not safe for you or for people around you.
“We also hope this will inspire more interest in what else Montana can do to help curb the youth vaping epidemic.”
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