HB 534 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Allow county water and/or sewer districts to connect to a system beyond capacity

HB 534 permits eligible county water and/or sewer districts to connect to existing water or wastewater systems, even if those systems are operating beyond their designed capacity. This allowance is contingent upon the connection being authorized by an approved development plan. The bill also grants rulemaking authority to implement these changes, impacting how these districts manage and expand their water and sewer services.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Feb 18, 2025 Signed May 13, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0534_X(2).pdf → HB0534_X(3).pdf · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text shows a minor formatting adjustment where the word 'AND' in the list of amended statutes was capitalized. No substantive policy changes, new requirements, funding amounts, or eligibility criteria were introduced in this specific diff.

TECHNICAL

Capitalization of the word 'AND' in the list of amended MCA sections was changed from lowercase to uppercase.

LC1128.pdf → HB0534_1.pdf · 15 edits

MAJOR

This bill updates the official title from LC 1128 to HB 534.1 and introduces new sponsors. It significantly expands the legal definition of 'pollution' to explicitly include biological changes and safety hazards, and clarifies that authorized discharges are not considered pollution. The bill also adds 'safety' to the list of public interests protected by water quality standards.

Scope change

The bill's scope of protection for state waters has been broadened to include biological alterations and safety risks, while clarifying exemptions for permitted discharges.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'pollution' was expanded to include biological changes and explicitly lists 'safety' as a protected interest alongside health and welfare.

The definition of 'pollution' was clarified to state that discharges authorized by pollution discharge permit rules are not considered pollution.

The word 'safety' was added to the list of interests protected by water quality standards.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the numbering of several definitions, such as 'Industrial waste' and 'Maximum contaminant level'.

The definition of 'Other waste' was updated to include 'discarded' equipment and 'lime'.

The definition of 'Person' was updated to include 'city' and 'town' explicitly.

The definition of 'Public sewage system' was updated to include 'disposal' in the description.

The definition of 'Public water supply system' was updated to include 'water hauler for cisterns' and 'water dispenser'.

The definition of 'Reclaimed wastewater' was updated to include 'commercial purposes'.

The definition of 'Safe Drinking Water Act' was updated to include 'parts 141 and 142'.

The definition of 'Sewage' was updated to include 'other buildings' and 'surface water present'.

The definition of 'Source water protection program' was updated to include 'source water protection ordinances'.

The definition of 'State waters' was updated to include 'drainage system'.

The definition of 'Transient noncommunity water system' was updated to include 'months a year'.

REQUIREMENT

A new section was added requiring the department to adopt rules concerning maximum contaminant levels for public water supply systems.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 14, 2025 · House Mar 4, 2025

How they voted

47–1

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 50

Apr 14, 2025

D Democratic18

17 Yea 1

94% Yea

R Republican32

30 Yea 1 Nay 1

93% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 8, 2025

Signed into law

(H) Signed by Governor

lower

May 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Signed by President

upper

Apr 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Signed by Speaker

lower

Apr 14, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (47-1-2)

senate

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Local Government

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Local Government

upper

Mar 5, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Local Government

upper

Mar 4, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (95-4-1)

house

Feb 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Local Government

lower

Feb 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Local Government

lower

Feb 18, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Local Government

lower

Feb 18, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors