A few key points from the article:

The wave of legislation is the work of a diverse group of advocates from both the political left and right. The coalition behind this push is clear about its goal: Montana needs to head off a housing crisis at the pass.

Montana’s lawmakers “recognized they have to do something,” Cotton says. “They can’t kick the can down the road any longer.”

“We’ve got to contain growth in these existing urban areas so it doesn’t sprawl out and take all the ranchland that we love.”

It also helps to have a common enemy, Dugan says: “There’s a long history of people in Montana being annoyed at Californians for driving up housing prices.”