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About Daniel
Daniel Zolnikov is a liberty-minded Republican who was elected to Montana's State Senate in 2022 after serving as a Representative of the Billings Heights' in the Montana Legislature from 2013-2020. He is a strong believer in the second amendment, limited government and civil liberties concerning our freedoms and rights. Daniel has successfully passed a variety of legislation that includes policies impacting energy, tax, technology, privacy, tourism, housing, human trafficking and more.
In 2023, Daniel returned to the legislature after a 2 year hiatus where he passed 15 bills. These include the nation's strongest DNA protections that give Montanans ownership of their DNA, an omnibus online privacy bill that gives Montanans rights over their online data, a pro-digital mining bill, legislation that simplifies the process to build transmission lines and pipelines, legislation clarifying Montana's tax appeal boards, legislation that created a new tourism vision for the state of Montana, zoning legislation that allowed for mixed use and multi-family housing in commercially zoned areas, emergency housing options for victims of human trafficking and domestic violence and more. The 2023 session was a huge success.
Daniel specializes in the areas of energy, technology and civil liberty policy. He has been a staunch supporter of new technological innovations including blockchain and ride-sharing. He has passed a variety of nationally leading liberty legislation regarding privacy and our fourth amendment rights, and has successfully passed anti-human trafficking legislation. Daniel served as the Chairman of the House Energy and Technology committee from 2017 - 2020 and has passed forward thinking pieces of energy legislation that have reformed Montana’s procurement and competitive solicitation laws while also working to maintain Montana's role as an energy exporter.
During his time in the House, Daniel specialized in 21st century policy that addressed the opportunities and risks associated with new technologies. Daniel has successfully passed laws that have:
- requiring the government to get a warrant in order to access cellphone information, electronic devices and digital communications
- protected reporters’ electronic communications from government intrusion,
- given immunity from MIP laws to minors who seek emergency medical attention,
- created a law enforcement human trafficking task force aimed at combating sex slavery.
He also helped lead the effort to revise Montana’s outdated transportation laws to allow ride-sharing services like Uber to operate in Montana, while also worked across the aisle to pass pro-block chain legislation. Daniel passed a law that ensured the smart meter data that energy utilities collect about you belongs to you.
Daniel was recently named one of the top 20 legislators under the age of 40 in the Nation by CSG. He was also recognized as one of the 40 leaders under 40 in Billings, Montana.
Forbes ranked Daniel among the top “30 Under 30” policymakers in the nation, and Red Alert Politics recognized him as one of the country’s Top 30 Conservatives under the age of 30. He has also received the Montana Library Association’s “Intellectual Freedom Award”, along with Responsibility.org’s “Advancing Alcohol Responsibility” leadership award. Most recently, Daniel earned the Superintendent of Public Instruction's LEARN award for his work on education policy. Daniel also was named a Griz of the Decade from UM.
Daniel received his undergraduate degree from the University of Montana where he earned three business majors in Information Systems, Marketing, and Management, along with a minor in Political Science. Outside of the Legislature, Daniel has worked as a coach, an energy developer and a consultant. He earned his MBA in 2019.
Daniel enjoys fishing, swimming, and the freedom that only Big Sky Country can offer.