HB 569 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise laws related to perjury and false swearing

HB 569 sought to revise laws related to perjury and false swearing. The bill proposed changes to the penalties for these offenses, introducing mandatory minimum jail sentences and adjusting maximum terms and fines. For perjury, the punishment would shift from state prison to county jail, while still requiring a minimum 6-month term. For false swearing, new mandatory minimums for jail time and revised fines were introduced. Additionally, the bill mandated that credible allegations of both perjury and false swearing be investigated by an agency independent of the judiciary.
Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Governor
Introduced Feb 19, 2025 Last action May 22, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0569_1(5).pdf HB0569_2.pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill underwent minor formatting updates, including changing the bill number format and adding a year header. A significant substantive change was made to the penalties for perjury, clarifying that the maximum prison term is 10 years and explicitly stating that a fine of up to $50,000 may be imposed in addition to imprisonment.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on perjury penalties, with no changes to who is subject to the law or the underlying legal standards.
ENFORCEMENT

Clarified the maximum prison term for perjury is 10 years and explicitly confirmed that fines can be imposed alongside imprisonment.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill number format from 'HB 569.1' to 'HB0569.2' and adjusted the header layout.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 14, 2025 · House Mar 1, 2025

How they voted

3313
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 50
Apr 14, 2025
D Democratic18
15 Yea 3
83% Yea
R Republican32
18 Yea 13 Nay 1
56% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
37
Key actions
6
Committee
6
Amendments
1
Apr 14, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (33-13-4)
senate
Apr 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Apr 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 5, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 1, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (61-36-3)
house
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Shane Klakken
Shane Klakken
RRepublican
MT
37