HB 238 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise laws related to physical and mental evaluations for professional licenses

HB 238 revises laws concerning mental and physical evaluations for individuals seeking or holding professional licenses. The bill establishes a standard process allowing licensing boards or the Department of Labor and Industry to require an evaluation if there is an objective and reasonable belief that a licensee or applicant poses a significant risk of substantial harm to public health and safety. These evaluations determine how any mental or physical impairment, disability, or substance use might impact professional performance and safety. Refusal to comply with such an evaluation can lead to the summary suspension of a license or the halting of an application.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Signed Apr 17, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0238_2(8).pdf → HB0238_X.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised to standardize the formatting and numbering of sections, changing the bill number from HB0238.2 to HB 238. The core policy provisions regarding mental and physical evaluations for professional licensees remain substantively unchanged, though minor text corrections were made to align the language between the board and department sections.

Scope change

The scope of applicability remains the same; the changes are primarily technical corrections to the bill's structure and numbering.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was updated from HB0238.2 to HB 238, and the title was slightly rephrased for consistency.

Section numbering and formatting were standardized throughout the document to remove inconsistencies between the board and department evaluation sections.

Minor text edits were made to correct phrasing, such as changing 'the department' to 'the board' in specific instances to ensure consistent terminology across the act.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 31, 2025 · House Feb 12, 2025

How they voted

50–0

Passed

Total votes 50

Mar 31, 2025

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican32

32 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 16, 2025

Signed into law

(H) Signed by Governor

lower

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Signed by President

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (50-0)

senate

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs

upper

Feb 12, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (100-0)

house

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Business and Labor

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Business and Labor

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors