HB 48 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Exempt wastewater ponds from dam safety act

HB 48 revises the state's Dam Safety Act by adding a new exemption. The bill specifies that certain provisions of the Dam Safety Act will no longer apply to dams used for public sewage systems or public sewage disposal systems. This change directly affects municipalities and other entities operating these wastewater management facilities. These systems remain regulated by the Department of Environmental Quality under separate environmental quality statutes.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2024

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Dec 9, 2024 Signed Apr 18, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0048_1(7).pdf → HB0048_X.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a draft version to an enrolled version, with the main substantive change being the addition of a new exemption for dams used in public sewage and disposal systems. This means such dams are now excluded from the Dam Safety Act requirements, reducing regulatory oversight for these specific infrastructure types.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include an additional category of exempted dams - those used for public sewage and disposal systems - which were not explicitly exempted in the previous draft version.

ELIGIBILITY

Added exemption for dams used for public sewage and disposal systems from the Dam Safety Act requirements

TECHNICAL

Changed document format from draft bill to enrolled bill with certification signatures and official formatting

Removed version number HB 48.1 and updated to HB 48 in enrolled version

Floor votes · Senate Mar 27, 2025 · House Jan 21, 2025

How they voted

45–5

Passed

Total votes 50

Mar 27, 2025

D Democratic18

18 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican32

27 Yea 5 Nay

84% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 17, 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 27, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (45-5)

senate

Mar 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Natural Resources

upper

Mar 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Natural Resources

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Natural Resources

upper

Jan 21, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (99-0-1)

house

Jan 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Natural Resources

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Natural Resources

lower

Dec 20, 2024

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Natural Resources

lower

Dec 9, 2024

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors