Tom Woods (Montana politician)

Tom Woods (born August 10, 1961) is an American politician. He is a member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 64th District, serving since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Gained popularity amongst his constituents who began referring to him as "Montana Tom". In his first term, Woods was appointed to the influential Appropriation committee, which assembles the state budget. He sponsored and passed HB 377, a bill placing the state pension fund on sound financial footing. This required a great deal of bipartisan negotiation and established Woods as an effective speaker and negotiator.

In his second term, Woods ran for caucus leadership (minority whip) but was defeated by Rep. Jenny Eck. In recognition of his abilities, Minority leader Chuck Hunter appointed Woods to the Rules committee, which proved to be a pivotal position for the 2015 session as Medicaid Expansion, "Dark Money" reform and the CSKT Water Compact were passed only after a protracted battle over parliamentary procedure. Woods was re-elected without opposition to a third term in 2017 and then to the position of caucus chair. Using his legislative experience and influence on committee appointments, he passed HB 193, which reined in the ability of Northwestern Energy to avoid regulators and increase charges to consumers.