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69th Legislature 2025 SB 478.1
- 1 - Authorized Print Version – SB 478
1 SENATE BILL NO. 478
2 INTRODUCED BY T. MANZELLA
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4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING HIGHER EDUCATION LAWS TO REQUIRE CERTAIN
5 INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO PAY MEDICAL COSTS RELATED TO REQUIRED COVID-19
6 VACCINATIONS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.”
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8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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10 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Requirement to pay certain medical costs -- definitions. (1) A
11 covered institution shall provide reimbursements to students for medical costs as described in this section.
12 (2) A student seeking payment of medical costs under this section shall submit to the covered
13 institution at which the student is or was enrolled a request for payment containing the following information:
14 (a) a record of covid-19 vaccination, including:
15 (i) the date of the vaccination; and
16 (ii) certification that the vaccination was acquired in order to comply with requirements of the
17 covered institution for attendance; and
18 (b) certification from a medical provider that, following the vaccination described in subsection
19 (2)(a), the student received a diagnosis of one or more of the following diseases:
20 (i) myocarditis;
21 (ii) pericarditis;
22 (iii) thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome;
23 (iv) Guillain-Barre syndrome; or
24 (v) any other disease with a positive association with the covid-19 vaccine that the board of
25 regents of higher education determines to be warranted; and
26 (c) records of the medical costs for the student.
27 (3) For the purposes of this section, the following terms apply:
28 (a) "Covered institution" means a public institution of postsecondary education governed,
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69th Legislature 2025 SB 478.1
- 2 - Authorized Print Version – SB 478
1 supervised, or coordinated by the board of regents of higher education.
2 (b) "Medical costs" means:
3 (i) costs associated with the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, or treatment of a disease described in
4 subsection (2)(b); and
5 (ii) any wages or income lost due to illness caused by a disease described in subsection (2)(b).
6 (c) "Student" means an individual who, for any amount of time, attends or attended, as applicable,
7 a covered institution after January 20, 2020.
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9 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an
10 integral part of Title 20, chapter 25, part 3, and the provisions of Title 20, chapter 25, part 3, apply to [section 1].
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12 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
13 - END -