HB 768 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise civil liability laws relating to equine activities and waivers

HB 768 revises civil liability laws concerning equine activities, affecting equine activity sponsors, professionals, and participants. The bill generally limits the liability of sponsors and professionals for injuries or death resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities. However, it maintains liability in specific situations, such as when the sponsor or professional provides faulty equipment, fails to assess a participant's ability, or acts with willful disregard for safety. The bill also establishes new requirements for liability waivers, mandating they state inherent risks and include a specific bold warning about waiving legal rights, including for ordinary negligence. Importantly, it clarifies that these waivers can still be legally challenged on other grounds.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 25, 2025 Signed May 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0768_X(2).pdf HB0768_X(3).pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The document changes are purely technical and formatting-related, removing a redundant closing marker ('- END -') and adjusting punctuation at the end of the bill text. There are no substantive policy changes, as no new laws, funding, or eligibility rules were added or removed.
TECHNICAL

Removed a redundant '- END -' marker from the end of the document text.

Adjusted punctuation at the end of the bill title from a period to a period (no functional change).

Floor votes · Senate Apr 18, 2025 · House Mar 7, 2025

How they voted

473
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 18, 2025
D Democratic18
16 Yea 2 Nay
88% Yea
R Republican32
31 Yea 1 Nay
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
38
Key actions
9
Committee
6
May 13, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
May 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
May 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 18, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (47-3)
senate
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
upper
Mar 7, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (95-4-1)
house
Feb 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 26, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Zack Wirth
Zack Wirth
RRepublican
MT
17