HB 253 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Mandate disclosure of certain information in public health emergency

HB 253 mandates that the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) disclose specific health information daily during a declared public health emergency. This bill requires the DPHHS to publish on its website the total number of individuals hospitalized and those who have died due to the emergency, while adhering to confidentiality laws. For these categories, the department must provide breakdowns by age group, gender, length of hospitalization, date of death, and any contributing underlying conditions or personal characteristics. The aim is to provide the public with detailed, aggregated data about the health impacts of an emergency.
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 17, 2025 Signed Apr 17, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0253_2(10).pdf HB0253_X.pdf · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was updated from a draft version to its final enrolled form, adding official signatures and certification that it has passed both legislative chambers. The substantive policy text remains largely the same, though minor formatting adjustments were made to the section headers and the list of age cohorts for public health reporting.
TECHNICAL

Added the 'ENROLLED BILL' certification block, including signatures for the Chief Clerk, Speaker of the House, and President of the Senate, confirming the bill has been approved by both the House and Senate.

REQUIREMENT

Refined the frequency of public health reporting from 'daily TWICE WEEKLY' to 'at minimum, a twice weekly disclosure' for clarity.

Corrected and standardized the age cohorts used for reporting hospitalization and death statistics (e.g., changing '0 to 5 4' to '0 to 4' and '6 to 15 5 TO 17' to '5 to 17').

Floor votes · Senate Mar 31, 2025 · House Feb 11, 2025

How they voted

500
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
39
Key actions
10
Committee
7
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) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Feb 11, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (92-7-1)
house
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Human Services
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Human Services
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Human Services
lower
Jan 20, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Human Services
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bill Mercer
Bill Mercer
RRepublican
MT
52