Montana marijuana regulators are proposing extensive new disclosure requirements for businesses that use outside companies or individuals for financing, management, consulting, staffing and other services.
Under proposed rules from the Montana Department of Revenue, licensed marijuana businesses would be required to disclose a wide range of third-party contractual relationships before the outside party begins performing work.
The proposal applies to both written and oral agreements involving management, consulting, financing, staffing, revenue distribution, intellectual property, business operations and equipment leases.
It would also cover other arrangements in which an outside party performs work for a marijuana business, receives compensation tied to the business, shares operational authority, gains access to licensed premises or inventory, or obtains access to company records or Montana’s seed-to-sale tracking system.
Businesses would be required to provide regulators with complete copies of contracts and related documents, identify the people involved and describe the work being performed.
The disclosure would also have to detail whether the outside party has authority over areas including cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, inventory, pricing, purchasing, staffing, security and compliance.
Financial arrangements would face particularly detailed scrutiny. Businesses would have to disclose fees, royalties, commissions, revenue-sharing agreements, reimbursements, loan payments, convertible debt, options and other forms of compensation.
Regulators would also require information on whether a third party can control bank accounts, receive sales proceeds, approve expenditures, pay vendors, enter contracts on behalf of the licensee or otherwise direct the company’s finances.
An organizational chart showing the relationship between the licensee and people or entities involved in the agreement would also be required.
Under the proposal, a third party could not begin providing services until the Department of Revenue gives the licensee written notice that its disclosure is complete. Material changes to an existing agreement would have to be reported before taking effect.
The department stresses that accepting a disclosure would not constitute approval of an agreement. Regulators could determine that an arrangement creates a financial interest or controlling ownership interest based on how it operates rather than how the parties characterize it.
Businesses would remain responsible for ensuring that third parties comply with Montana marijuana laws. Providing incomplete or inaccurate information could result in sanctions, suspension or revocation of a license.
The proposal implements portions of Senate Bill 74, a marijuana regulatory measure approved by lawmakers and signed into law in 2025. The law, which largely took effect October 1, 2025, established the requirement that third-party relationships be disclosed before outside parties begin performing work for a marijuana business.
The Department of Revenue says the additional rules are needed because third-party arrangements can transfer operational authority, create revenue-sharing rights or give someone potential or actual control over a marijuana business.
A public hearing on the proposal was held August 31. Written comments will be accepted through September 8 at 5 p.m.
