Environment
No direct effect
Neutral — no direct effect identified.
Benefits
- No material direct effect identified.
Risks
- No material direct effect identified.
StateMontanaEnacted
SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law
Carl Glimm
SB 437 status: Enacted — Chapter Number Assigned (updated Mar 25, 2026).
Source
OpenStates
Confidence
Low
Analysis basis
OpenStates summary
01
What this bill does
Official summary alongside an AI-generated read on where it stands and why.
Overall Score
37OUT OF 100
Score:37/100 civic fit
Risk:High Risk
Impact:High Impact 85/100
Constitutionality30%
Bipartisan20%
Public opinion40%
Bill summary
What changes
The state law now defines sex exclusively as 'male' or 'female' based on birth certificates, overriding alternative methods of legal identity verification.
Who is affected
All state residents, with specific implications for transgender and non-binary individuals, as well as state agencies administering health, insurance, and family law.
Requirements and enforcement
State agencies must align their record-keeping and statutory operations with the new birth-record-based definition of sex.
Costs and funding
Administrative costs associated with updating agency databases and potential litigation defense expenses.
When it takes effect
The bill is enacted as of March 2026.
Potential benefits
Statutory consistency and standardization of legal categories.
Risks and tradeoffs
Exclusion of gender identity, potential for civil rights violations, and disruption of access to health and insurance services.
What is still unknown
The full breadth of affected statutes and the outcome of anticipated constitutional challenges.
02
Impact analysis
✦ AI analysisModeled effects across six domains, estimated from bill text and comparable legislation.
Economy
Mixed / Neutral
45%
Benefits
- Establishes a uniform regulatory definition across state agencies
- Reduces administrative ambiguity in statutory interpretation
- Provides predictable categorization for existing state fiscal structures
Risks
- Compliance costs for updating institutional databases and records
- Potential for litigation regarding contractual coverage definitions
- Administrative burden on departments to audit existing regulations
Society
Critical outlook
30%
Benefits
- Codifies a singular, static legal definition of sex
- Aligns state law with specific traditionalist interpretation
- Reduces potential for judicial discretion in administrative identity matters
Risks
- Institutionalizes exclusion of gender identity in legal status
- May impact access to state-protected anti-discrimination services
- Risk of systemic inequality for transgender and non-binary individuals
Technology Industry
No direct effect
Neutral — no direct effect identified.
Benefits
- No material direct effect identified.
Risks
- No material direct effect identified.
Civic Accountability
No direct effect
Neutral — no direct effect identified.
Benefits
- No material direct effect identified.
Risks
- No material direct effect identified.
Public Health & Safety
Critical outlook
35%
Benefits
- Standardizes health data reporting based on birth records
- Simplifies categorization for uniform record-keeping
- Clarifies data sets for researchers using legacy definitions
Risks
- Excludes gender-affirming care from specified service categories
- Potential impact on health insurance coverage eligibility
- Delayed or denied access to gender-appropriate care settings
03
How trustworthy & consequential it is
Sourcing already shown above, this is what the analysis found worth flagging.
Source
OpenStates
Official bill text or data from OpenStates.
Confidence
Low
Information is limited or incomplete.
Analysis basis
OpenStates summary
Source used for this bill's analysis.
Source note
LegiScan returned a PDF-only document. PDF extraction is not enabled in this build, so the pipeline used a safer fallback.
Analysis scope
Analysis based on limited legislative abstract.
04
Where it stands
Official recordChapter Number Assigned
- IntroducedComplete
- CommitteeComplete
- Chamber votesComplete
- Final agreementComplete
- GovernorComplete
- EnactedComplete
05
How it affects your district
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06
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