HB 886 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Provide for water division court, judges

HB 886 proposed the establishment of a dedicated water division court and water division judges. This bill aimed to revise the court's jurisdiction to include the enforcement of water rights and supervision of water distribution. It outlined procedures for the Governor to appoint these judges, detailing nominations, terms, and vacancy replacements. The legislation also sought to clarify complaint processes for dissatisfied water users and update laws related to water commissioners and mediators. This would have directly affected individuals and entities involved in water rights and distribution by creating a specialized judicial body for these issues.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 26, 2025 Last action May 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC1454.pdf HB0886_1.pdf · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill number was officially changed from LC 1454 to HB 886.1, and the list of sponsors was updated to include K. Walsh, B. Gillespie, J. Cohenour, R. Miner, and J. Seckinger. A new section was added to establish the timeline for initiating judicial review, specifying that aggrieved parties must exhaust administrative remedies before seeking court intervention.
TECHNICAL

The bill identifier was updated from LC 1454 to HB 886.1, reflecting its progression in the legislative process.

The list of bill sponsors was updated to include five specific legislators: K. Walsh, B. Gillespie, J. Cohenour, R. Miner, and J. Seckinger.

REQUIREMENT

A new provision was added requiring parties to exhaust all administrative remedies within the agency before they can file a lawsuit, clarifying the pre-litigation process.

Floor votes · House Apr 1, 2025

How they voted

5939
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 100
Apr 1, 2025
D Democratic42
41 Yea 1 Nay
97% Yea
R Republican58
18 Yea 38 Nay 2
65% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
28
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Amendments
1
Apr 1, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (59-39-2)
house
Apr 1, 2025
Amended
(H) Tabled in Committee - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Mar 28, 2025
Committee
(H) Rereferred to Committee - (H) Natural Resources
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ken Walsh
Ken Walsh
RRepublican
MT
69