Montana has no shared solar for associations — the veto was not overridden
Montana has no shared solar for associations — the veto was not overridden
2026-09-15 · Montana · Legislation · Did not pass
What happened. Montana came closer than it ever has to a shared solar framework, and then did not get one. The bill was vetoed and the override failed — which matters to any association that has looked at a single array serving multiple units.
The bill and the veto
Senate Bill 188, “Revising solar energy policy laws,” would have added new sections to Title 69, chapter 3, distinguishing shared solar customers from net-metering customers, with Public Service Commission rulemaking within one year.1
- Vetoed by the Governor — June 9, 2025
- Override vote in progress — June 19, 2025
- Override failed — July 14, 2025
No chapter number was assigned. Confirmation from the other direction: Montana Code Annotated Title 69, chapter 3 contains no shared-solar part.
A reading trap worth naming
Montana's bill-status system labels the override poll “Veto Override,” which reads like success. The outcome lives in a separate result field, and for SB 188 it reads VETO_NOT_OVERRIDDEN. Across the 2025 session there were 26 override polls and only 2 successful overrides — House Bill 368 and House Bill 643, neither related to housing.
Any tracker that keys off the status label alone will report these bills as enacted. They are not. Two other sustained vetoes are worth knowing about because they would have helped owner-members: House Bill 831, increasing the elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit, and Senate Bill 424, revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program.
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Related Montana HOA Topics
- Senate Bill 188 (2025), enrolled bill — the shared and community solar framework that was vetoed (Montana Legislature document store) ↩
- House Bill 760 (2025), enrolled bill — Chapter 719, Laws of 2025, solar consumer protection and the three-business-day rescission right ↩
- Montana Legislature Bill Explorer API — veto and VETO_NOT_OVERRIDDEN results for SB 188, HB 831 and SB 424, and the two successful 2025 overrides ↩
- Mont. Code Ann. Title 69, chapter 3 parts index — confirming no shared-solar part exists (official) ↩
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