SB 196 Montana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Revise DUI laws regarding actual physical control

This bill clarifies Montana's definition of "actual physical control" under DUI laws, specifically excluding certain non-driving scenarios from DUI charges. It states that a person is not in "actual physical control" if seated in a passenger seat with the engine running but not in gear, if the vehicle is disabled (not from a collision), or if manually pushing a disabled vehicle. This directly affects individuals stopped in vehicles under these specific conditions who might otherwise face DUI charges. The amendment does not change DUI penalties, alcohol limits, or other legal standards - it only refines the definition of when a DUI charge applies.
Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC1654.pdf SB0196_1.pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from LC 1654 to SB 196 and updated to reflect its status as a Senate bill with specific sponsors. The most significant substantive change is the reorganization of the definitions section, where the numbering of legal terms was shifted (e.g., 'Aggravated driving under the influence' is now item 1(2) instead of item 2) to align with a new structure, while the actual legal definitions of these terms remain unchanged.
Scope change
No change in the scope or applicability of the bill; the changes are primarily to the bill's identification and the formatting of its definitions.
TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from LC 1654 to SB 196, and the header was updated to list the specific Senate sponsors (J. Trebas, M. Nikolakakos, D. Emrich, B. Mitchell).

DEFINITION

The numbering sequence for the definitions section was reorganized. For example, the definition for 'Aggravated driving under the influence' was moved from item (2) to item (1)(2), and subsequent definitions were renumbered accordingly to match a new layout.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
16
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Amendments
1
Feb 13, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Jan 22, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Jan 21, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jeremy Trebas
Jeremy Trebas
RRepublican
MT
10