HB 79 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Exempt small projects from fire hazard reduction agreements

HB 79 exempts small-scale wood harvesting activities from requiring a fire hazard reduction agreement with Montana's Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Specifically, it applies to private landowners or individuals harvesting less than 5,000 board feet of forest products (like firewood) in a single activity. This change removes the need for these small-scale harvesters to obtain a formal agreement or certificate from the department. The bill directly affects homeowners, small landowners, and local residents who gather firewood or perform minor land clearing. It streamlines the process for low-impact activities while maintaining requirements for larger commercial operations.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2024
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Mar 2025
Introduced Dec 12, 2024 Signed Mar 27, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 11 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0079_X.pdf HB0079_X(1).pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill text shows formatting and numbering changes from 'HB0079' to 'HB 79' and updates to the legislature year header. These appear to be technical formatting adjustments rather than substantive policy changes.
TECHNICAL

Bill number formatting changed from 'HB0079' to 'HB 79' in header sections

Header formatting adjusted with spacing changes in the legislature year display

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2025 · House Jan 24, 2025

How they voted

491
Passed
Total votes 50
Mar 3, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% 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
44
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Mar 27, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
Mar 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 3, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (49-1)
senate
Feb 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Jan 27, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Natural Resources
upper
Jan 24, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (97-0-3)
house
Jan 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Dec 20, 2024
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Dec 12, 2024
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Curt Cochran
Curt Cochran
RRepublican
MT
90