The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Montana
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Explains the Directives issued under Mont. Code Ann. 10-3-104 and Title 50, ch. 1 (Ex. MT-009, MT-010, MT-012)
- Issued
- 2020-04-14 Apr. 14, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-04-14 (explaining the Stay at Home Directive as extended through Apr. 24, 2020, Ex. MT-012) (read as 2020-04-14)
- End
- Superseded by the Phase One Directive of Apr. 22, 2020 (Ex. MT-013), effective Apr. 26-27, 2020 (read as 2020-04-22)
- In force
- Apr. 14, 2020 to Apr. 22, 2020
- Quarters
- 2020 Q2
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Stay-at-homeBusiness closureTravel and quarantineWorkplace rulesQuarantine and isolation
- Addressees
- persons generally; employers; all businesses (essential and non-essential); travelers and lodging operators
- Character
- agency position statement
- Collection
- Standing duties: Montana DUT-MT
Operative words
This is a public health order that can be legally enforced at local or state levels.... Essential businesses and operations... must take proactive measures to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements... Directive is mandatory, not optional. It can be enforced by DPHHS, the Attorney General, county attorney or other local authorities at the direction of a county attorney.
Penalty
Restates the Directives' enforcement recital (50-1-103(2); Attorney General, DPHHS, county attorneys, local authorities)
What it required
The State's own contemporaneous statement to the public and to businesses that the Directives were 'mandatory, not optional', were public health orders 'legally enforced at local or state levels', that violations were to be reported 'to your local county health department or local law enforcement', and that essential businesses 'must take proactive measures' (signage, six-foot spacing, sanitizer, separate hours for vulnerable customers, remote access); it also answers 'Do you have the authority to make a stay at home directive?' with 'Yes. Montana law specifically authorizes these kinds of measures in response to an outbreak of communicable disease.' Character as recorded: agency_position_statement (release, FAQ, memorandum or statement; order_penalty layer).
Retrieval noteStill hosted live at covid19.mt.gov (Joint Information Center page) on Sept. 28, 2026, with the Directives, the Child Care FAQ of Apr. 14, 2020 and the Additional Phase One Guidelines of May 7, 2020 (Ex. MT-033).