2025 Capitol Tracker

The lawmakers, bills and votes of the 69th Montana Legislature

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Last update: 5:44 AM Apr 15, 2025
🗂 All bills🔎 Find a bill🔎 Find a lawmaker🏡 Your district🗓 Calendar
🏠 House
GOP-held 58-42
🏛 Senate
GOP-held 32-18
🖋 Governor
Greg Gianforte (R)
Sen. Sara Novak, SD 36

Sen. Sara Novak

Second-session Democrat from Anaconda
Representing Senate District 36
Anaconda, Warm Springs, west Butte
406-691-0069 • Sara.Novak@legmt.gov
Committees •Bills •Key votes •Voting stats •2024 election margin •MTFP Coverage

Novak previously served in the Montana House in 2021.

Montana Free Press coverage

📰 2025 Legislature
Lawmakers pass bill barring discipline against students who refuse to use peers’ preferred names, pronouns
Apr 11, 2025 • Alex Sakariassen

Committee assignments

Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
Senate Education and Cultural Resources - Vice-chair
Senate Fish and Game

Bills sponsored

📋 SJ 17: Resolution requesting an interim study on hunter satisfaction
Sara Novak (D)📃 Bill text
✅1st Cmte.
❌Senate
⚪️House
📋 SB 278: Revise education laws to support advanced opportunities
Sara Novak (D)📃 Bill text💵 Fiscal note
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
✅House
✴️Reconcil.
⚪️Gov.
📋 SB 359: Revise traffic laws related to distracted driving
Sara Novak (D)📃 Bill text💵 Fiscal note
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
✴️House
⚪️Gov.
📋 SB 461: Generally revise administration of drug and substance laws
Sara Novak (D)📃 Bill text💵 Fiscal note
✅1st Cmte.
✅Senate
❌House
⚪️Gov.
📋 SB 462: Generally revise department of motor vehicles laws
Sara Novak (D)📃 Bill text
❌1st Cmte.
⚪️Senate
⚪️House
⚪️Gov.
📋 SB 533: Generally revise accessibility laws related to trails/roads
Sara Novak (D)📃 Bill text💵 Fiscal note
❌1st Cmte.
⚪️Senate
⚪️House
⚪️Gov.
Showing 6 of 6
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Floor vote statistics

Calculations based on 1,930 Senate floor votes in 2025 involving bills.
🥇 84%
of votes cast on winning side
Average for Senate Democrats is 78%.
🔴 73%
of votes cast on side taken by most Republicans
Average for Senate Democrats is 68%.
🔵 95%
of votes cast on side taken by most Democrats
Average for Senate Democrats is 93%.
Novak has been marked absent or excused for 5 votes. Average for Senate lawmakers is 21.0.

SD 36 election results

Last in-cycle for Senate election in 2024. House seats are elected every two years, Senate seats every four.

General election vote, 2024

(D) SARA NOVAK(D) 62%(R) 38%
Won by 25% (2,601 votes)

Party primary vote, 2024

(D) SARA NOVAK(D) 64%(D) 36%
Won by 27% (1,027 votes)

Governor vote in district, 2024

(D) RYAN BUSSE(D) 54%(R) 43%
Won by 11% (1,165 votes)

About the 2025 Montana Free Press Capitol Tracker

This guide is an effort to make the quantifiable aspects of the Montana Legislature more accessible to the public by compiling information about lawmakers, proposed bills and the legislative process. This is a project of Montana Free Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom that aims to provide Montanans with in-depth, nonpartisan news coverage.

The information presented here is collected from a variety of sources including the Montana Legislature's public roster and its official bill-tracking system. Reporting and web design were done by Jacob Olness and Eric Dietrich. Please contact them at jolness@montanafreepress.org and edietrich@montanafreepress.org with bug reports, questions or suggestions.

Think there's a potential news story to be done about a bill or lawmaker you see here? Tell us at tips@montanafreepress.org.