HB 739 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise laws for agricultural vehicles on the highway

HB 739 revises traffic laws to improve safety when motor vehicles encounter agricultural vehicles on highways. The bill requires motor vehicle operators to reduce their speed when approaching an agricultural vehicle, either matching its speed if traveling in the same direction or reducing to half the posted limit if traveling in a different direction. It also mandates that agricultural vehicle operators move off the roadway or onto the shoulder when a line of vehicles forms behind them to allow other traffic to pass. These provisions directly affect anyone operating a motor vehicle or an agricultural vehicle on public roads.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 25, 2025 Signed May 13, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0739_X(3).pdf HB0739_X(4).pdf · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was updated to remove redundant formatting and streamline the definitions of agricultural vehicles. The primary substantive change is the removal of the requirement for drivers to move to a different lane when approaching an agricultural vehicle traveling in the same direction, simplifying the passing rules.
Scope change
The scope of the passing requirement was narrowed for vehicles traveling in the same direction, while requirements for oncoming traffic and vehicles in line remain unchanged.
REQUIREMENT

Removed the mandate for drivers to move out of the lane closest to the center line when approaching an agricultural vehicle traveling in the same direction.

DEFINITION

Reformatted the list of agricultural vehicle definitions to remove unnecessary numbering and capitalization inconsistencies.

TECHNICAL

Deleted redundant headers and page markers that were present in the previous version.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 14, 2025 · House Mar 7, 2025

How they voted

480
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 50
Apr 14, 2025
D Democratic18
17 Yea 1
94% Yea
R Republican32
31 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
40
Key actions
9
Committee
6
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 (48-0-2)
senate
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Highways and Transportation
upper
Mar 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Highways and Transportation
upper
Mar 18, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Highways and Transportation
upper
Mar 7, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (98-1-1)
house
Mar 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Transportation
lower
Mar 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Transportation
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Transportation
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne
RRepublican
MT
11