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Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB 112 barring transgender athletes from women's school sports

On May 7, 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 112, sponsored by Rep. John Fuller, requiring K-16 school and university sports teams to be organized by sex assigned at birth and barring transgender women and girls from competing on female teams. The governor's office signed the bill without a public ceremony or statement; the signing was first reported after the bill's status updated on the Legislature's tracking system.

Jurisdiction
Montana
Location
Helena, Montana

Abuses documented

Actors

On May 7, 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 112, sponsored by Rep. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, requiring K-16 school and university sports teams to be organized by "biological sex" and barring transgender women and girls from competing on female teams based on sex assigned at birth. The bill passed both chambers on April 23, 2021 and was transmitted to the governor May 3 before being signed May 7; the governor's office signed it without a public ceremony or statement, and the signing was first reported after the bill's status updated on the Legislature's tracking system.

The law made Montana one of the earliest states in a nationwide wave of legislative restrictions on transgender athletes' participation in sex-segregated school sports. Montana's Legislature and governor returned to the same restriction in 2025 with HB300 after courts struck down HB112's application to university sports.

Updates

2022-09-14 — Gallatin County court ruled HB 112 unconstitutional for university sports [5]

A Gallatin County District Court judge permanently barred the state from enforcing HB 112 against transgender athletes on Montana University System teams, ruling the Legislature had infringed the Board of Regents' constitutional authority to govern the university system.

2024-04-26 — Montana Supreme Court affirmed the ruling against HB 112 and two other 2021 laws [6, 7]

A divided Montana Supreme Court upheld the district court's finding that HB 112, along with House Bill 349 and a section of Senate Bill 319, unconstitutionally infringed the Board of Regents' authority over Montana's university system, leaving HB 112 unenforceable as to colleges and universities while it remained in effect for K-12 schools.

Why we recorded this

Civil-rights protections require government programs to treat people fairly regardless of protected characteristics such as gender identity. Montana barred transgender women and girls from competing in K-16 school and university sports according to their gender identity, instead requiring participation based on sex assigned at birth — a facially discriminatory classification the state repeated in later legislation after courts struck this version down. This archive records when a state legislature enacts a law singling out transgender students for exclusion from an otherwise available public benefit.

Sources

  1. MT HB112 | 2021 | Regular Session — LegiScan primary accessed July 19, 2026
  2. HB 112: Require interscholastic athletes to participate under sex assigned at birth | 2021 Montana Capitol Tracker — Montana Free Press Capitol Tracker secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  3. Gianforte signs bill restricting transgender athletes — Montana Free Press secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  4. Transgender sports bill signed into law — Daily Montanan secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  5. Transgender athlete bill declared "unconstitutional" — Montana Free Press secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  6. MT Supreme Court rules laws, including one on transgender athletes, violate Board of Regents' authority — KTVH secondary accessed July 19, 2026
  7. Divided Supreme Court holds transgender athlete bill unconstitutional, along with 2 others — Billings Gazette secondary accessed July 19, 2026

See also