WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE
How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
[Sections 1 through 7] may be cited as the "Right to Compute Act".
Establishes the short title of the act as the "Right to Compute Act." This section creates no compliance obligation.
The legislature finds that the rights to acquire, possess, and protect property under Article II, section 3, of the Montana constitution, and the freedom of expression under Article II, section 7, of the Montana constitution, also embody the notion of a fundamental right to own and make use of technological tools, including computational resourcesComputational resources"Computational resources" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.Section 7(3). Any restrictions placed by the government on the ability to privately own or make use of computational resourcesComputational resources"Computational resources" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.Section 7(3) for lawful purposes must be limited to those demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling government interestCompelling government interest"Compelling government interest" means a government interest of the highest order in protecting the public that cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. This includes but is not limited to: (a) ensuring that a critical infrastructure facility controlled by an artificial intelligence system develops a risk management policy; (b) addressing conduct that deceives or defrauds the public; (c) protecting individuals, especially minors, from harm by a person who distributes deepfakes and other harmful synthetic content with actual knowledge of the nature of that material; and (d) taking actions that prevent or abate common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure.Section 7(2).
Sets forth the legislature's findings that Montana constitutional rights to property (Art. II, § 3) and free expression (Art. II, § 7) encompass a fundamental right to own and use technological tools, including computational resources. Declares that government restrictions on private ownership or use of computational resources must satisfy strict scrutiny — demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest.
This section establishes the constitutional framing and interpretive lens for the act but does not itself impose an affirmative compliance obligation on any private party.
1 Government actionsGovernment actions"Government actions" means any law, ordinance, regulation, rule, policy, condition, test, permit, or administrative practice enacted by a government entity that restricts the common or intended use of computational resources by its owner or invitees.Section 7(7) that restrict the ability to privately own or make use of computational resourcesComputational resources"Computational resources" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.Section 7(3) for lawful purposes, which infringes on citizens' fundamental rights to property and free expression, must be limited to those demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling government interestCompelling government interest"Compelling government interest" means a government interest of the highest order in protecting the public that cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. This includes but is not limited to: (a) ensuring that a critical infrastructure facility controlled by an artificial intelligence system develops a risk management policy; (b) addressing conduct that deceives or defrauds the public; (c) protecting individuals, especially minors, from harm by a person who distributes deepfakes and other harmful synthetic content with actual knowledge of the nature of that material; and (d) taking actions that prevent or abate common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure.Section 7(2).
Section 3 is the operative provision of the act's rights-protective framework. It imposes a strict-scrutiny standard on government actions that restrict private ownership or lawful use of computational resources. The obligation runs to government entities — any restriction that infringes fundamental rights to property and free expression must be demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest.
This provision constrains government power rather than imposing affirmative compliance obligations on private parties. It may, however, serve as the basis for challenging state or local AI regulations that restrict compute access without meeting the strict-scrutiny standard.
(1) 2 When critical infrastructure facilities are controlled in whole or in part by a critical artificial intelligenceCritical artificial intelligence(a) "Critical artificial intelligence" means an artificial intelligence system that is designed and deployed to make, or is a substantial factor in making, a consequential decision. (b) The term does not include: (i) an artificial intelligence system that is intended to: (A) perform a narrow procedural task; (B) improve the result of a previously completed human activity; (C) perform a preparatory task to an assessment relevant to a consequential decision; or (D) detect a decision-making pattern or a deviation from a preexisting decision-making pattern; (ii) antifraud, antimalware, antivirus, calculator, cybersecurity, database, data storage, firewall, internet domain registration, internet-website loading, networking, robocall-filtering, spam-filtering, spellchecking, spreadsheet, web-caching, web-hosting, or search engine technologies or similar technologies; or (iii) a technology that communicates in natural language for the purpose of providing users with information, makes referrals or recommendations, answers questions, or generates other content and that is subject to an acceptable use policy that prohibits the generation of unlawful content.Section 7(4) system, the deployerDeployer"Deployer" means an individual, company, or other organization that utilizes an artificial intelligence system.Section 7(6) shall develop a risk management policy after deploying the system that is reasonable and considers guidance and standards in the latest version of the artificial intelligence risk management framework from the national institute of standards and technology, the ISO/IEC 4200 artificial intelligence standard from the international organization for standardization, or another nationally or internationally recognized risk management framework for artificial intelligence systemsArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.Section 7(1). A plan prepared under federal requirements constitutes compliance with this section.
Section 4 is the act's sole affirmative private-sector compliance obligation. It requires deployers of critical artificial intelligence systems that control critical infrastructure facilities — in whole or in part — to develop a risk management policy after deploying the system. The policy must be reasonable and must consider guidance from the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, the ISO/IEC 42001 standard, or another nationally or internationally recognized AI risk management framework.
Notably, the obligation arises after deployment, not before. The provision also includes a safe harbor: a plan prepared under federal requirements constitutes compliance.
Nothing in [sections 1 through 7] may be construed to alter, diminish, or interfere with the rights and remedies available under federal or state intellectual property laws, including but not limited to patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws.
A savings clause preserving all rights and remedies under federal and state intellectual property laws, including patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret. Creates no new compliance obligation.
Nothing in [sections 1 through 7] may be construed to preempt federal laws.
A savings clause clarifying that the act does not preempt federal laws. Creates no new compliance obligation.
(1) "Artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.Section 7(1)" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.
(2) "Compelling government interestCompelling government interest"Compelling government interest" means a government interest of the highest order in protecting the public that cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. This includes but is not limited to: (a) ensuring that a critical infrastructure facility controlled by an artificial intelligence system develops a risk management policy; (b) addressing conduct that deceives or defrauds the public; (c) protecting individuals, especially minors, from harm by a person who distributes deepfakes and other harmful synthetic content with actual knowledge of the nature of that material; and (d) taking actions that prevent or abate common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure.Section 7(2)" means a government interest of the highest order in protecting the public that cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. This includes but is not limited to: (a) ensuring that a critical infrastructure facilityCritical infrastructure facility"Critical infrastructure facility" has the same meaning as provided in 82-1-601.Section 7(5) controlled by an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.Section 7(1) develops a risk management policy; (b) addressing conduct that deceives or defrauds the public; (c) protecting individuals, especially minors, from harm by a person who distributes deepfakes and other harmful synthetic content with actual knowledge of the nature of that material; and (d) taking actions that prevent or abate common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure.
(3) "Computational resourcesComputational resources"Computational resources" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.Section 7(3)" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.
(4) "Critical artificial intelligenceCritical artificial intelligence(a) "Critical artificial intelligence" means an artificial intelligence system that is designed and deployed to make, or is a substantial factor in making, a consequential decision. (b) The term does not include: (i) an artificial intelligence system that is intended to: (A) perform a narrow procedural task; (B) improve the result of a previously completed human activity; (C) perform a preparatory task to an assessment relevant to a consequential decision; or (D) detect a decision-making pattern or a deviation from a preexisting decision-making pattern; (ii) antifraud, antimalware, antivirus, calculator, cybersecurity, database, data storage, firewall, internet domain registration, internet-website loading, networking, robocall-filtering, spam-filtering, spellchecking, spreadsheet, web-caching, web-hosting, or search engine technologies or similar technologies; or (iii) a technology that communicates in natural language for the purpose of providing users with information, makes referrals or recommendations, answers questions, or generates other content and that is subject to an acceptable use policy that prohibits the generation of unlawful content.Section 7(4)" means an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.Section 7(1) that is designed and deployed to make, or is a substantial factor in making, a consequential decision. (b) The term does not include: (i) an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.Section 7(1) that is intended to: (A) perform a narrow procedural task; (B) improve the result of a previously completed human activity; (C) perform a preparatory task to an assessment relevant to a consequential decision; or (D) detect a decision-making pattern or a deviation from a preexisting decision-making pattern; (ii) antifraud, antimalware, antivirus, calculator, cybersecurity, database, data storage, firewall, internet domain registration, internet-website loading, networking, robocall-filtering, spam-filtering, spellchecking, spreadsheet, web-caching, web-hosting, or search engine technologies or similar technologies; or (iii) a technology that communicates in natural language for the purpose of providing users with information, makes referrals or recommendations, answers questions, or generates other content and that is subject to an acceptable use policy that prohibits the generation of unlawful content.
(5) "Critical infrastructure facilityCritical infrastructure facility"Critical infrastructure facility" has the same meaning as provided in 82-1-601.Section 7(5)" has the same meaning as provided in 82-1-601.
(6) "DeployerDeployer"Deployer" means an individual, company, or other organization that utilizes an artificial intelligence system.Section 7(6)" means an individual, company, or other organization that utilizes an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including but not limited to content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.Section 7(1).
(7) "Government actionsGovernment actions"Government actions" means any law, ordinance, regulation, rule, policy, condition, test, permit, or administrative practice enacted by a government entity that restricts the common or intended use of computational resources by its owner or invitees.Section 7(7)" means any law, ordinance, regulation, rule, policy, condition, test, permit, or administrative practice enacted by a government entityGovernment entity"Government entity" means any unit of state government including the state, counties, cities, towns, or political subdivisions, and any branch, department, division, office, or government entity of state or local government.Section 7(8) that restricts the common or intended use of computational resourcesComputational resources"Computational resources" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.Section 7(3) by its owner or invitees.
(8) "Government entityGovernment entity"Government entity" means any unit of state government including the state, counties, cities, towns, or political subdivisions, and any branch, department, division, office, or government entity of state or local government.Section 7(8)" means any unit of state government including the state, counties, cities, towns, or political subdivisions, and any branch, department, division, office, or government entity of state or local government.
Section 7 provides the definitions used throughout the Right to Compute Act. Key terms include artificial intelligence system (machine learning-based systems that infer outputs from inputs), critical artificial intelligence (AI that makes or substantially contributes to consequential decisions, with broad carve-outs), computational resources (an expansive definition covering all computation-related tools, technologies, and infrastructure), and deployer (any individual, company, or organization that utilizes an AI system). The definition of critical artificial intelligence is notable for its extensive exclusions, which exempt narrow procedural tasks, common software technologies, and natural-language systems subject to acceptable use policies.
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.
Standard severability clause. Creates no compliance obligation.
[Sections 1 through 7] are intended to be codified as a new part of Title 2, chapter 10, and the provisions of Title 2, chapter 10, apply to [sections 1 through 7].
Directs codification of Sections 1 through 7 as a new part of Title 2, chapter 10 of the Montana Code Annotated. Creates no compliance obligation.
[This act] is effective on passage and approval.
Provides that the act is effective immediately upon passage and approval by the governor. Creates no compliance obligation.