_____________ bill NO. _____________
INTRODUCED
BY _________________________________________________
By Request of the ****
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON A PERSON'S VACCINATION STATUS OR POSSESSION OF AN Immunity PASSPORT; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; and PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATEs."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
NEW SECTION. Section 1. Discrimination based on vaccination status or possession of immunity passport prohibited -- definitions. (1) It is an unlawful discriminatory practice for:
(a) a person or a government entity to refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any local or state services, goods, facilities, advantages, privileges, licensing, educational opportunities, health care access, or employment opportunities based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport;
(b) an employer to refuse employment to a person, to bar a person from employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in a term, condition, or privilege of employment based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport; or
(c) a public accommodation to exclude, limit, segregate, refuse to serve, or otherwise discriminate against a person based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport.
(2) A government entity or an employer does not unlawfully discriminate in violation of this section if any vaccination policy set forth by the government entity or the employer includes exemptions for a person to decline to be vaccinated based on medical or religious grounds.
(3) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Immunity passport" means a document, digital record, or software application indicating that a person is immune to a disease, either through vaccination or infection and recovery.
(b) "Vaccination status" means an indication of whether a person has received one or more doses of a vaccine.
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Appropriation. There is appropriated $200 from the general fund to the department of labor and industry for the biennium beginning July 1, 2021, for the purposes of:
(1) notifying local boards of health of the requirements of [section 1] and requiring local boards of health to prominently display notice of the requirements of [section 1] on the home page of their website, if available, for at least 6 months after [the effective date of this act]; and
(2) requiring the department of public health and human services to prominently display notice of the requirements of [section 1] on the home page of the department's website for at least 6 months after [the effective date of this act].
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 49, chapter 2, part 3, and the provisions of Title 49, chapter 2, part 3, apply to [section 1].
NEW SECTION. Section 4. Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.
NEW SECTION. Section 5. Effective date. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), [this act] is effective on passage and approval.
(2) [Section 2] is effective July 1, 2021.