SB 357: Extend perfection deadline for certain Missouri River water reservations - Montana

SB0357_2(10).pdf → SB0357_X(4).pdf · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill amends the Montana Water Code to clarify the legal definition of state water reservations, specifically addressing the Fort Peck Dam and out-of-state water transport. It updates the statutory text to ensure consistency with current legislative formatting and explicitly confirms that state water reservations issued for maintaining minimum flows are considered complete upon issuance, rather than requiring physical construction.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on water rights administration, but the amendment clarifies the legal status of 'maintenance' reservations and standardizes the application process for state water reservations.

DEFINITION

The text was updated to align with the official title of the bill, clarifying that the act extends deadlines for water reservations above Fort Peck Dam and provides rulemaking authority.

REQUIREMENT

The statutory language regarding the issuance of state water reservations was reorganized and slightly reworded to improve clarity on the evidence required for approval and the factors considered for out-of-state transport.

A specific provision was added confirming that water appropriations for maintaining minimum flow, level, or quality are legally complete immediately upon the department issuing the reservation, removing ambiguity about when the right is perfected.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting changes were made to standardize the layout, numbering, and capitalization of the statute to match the official enrolled bill format.

SB0357_X(3).pdf → SB0357_2(10).pdf · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill text was updated to reflect a new version number (SB0357.2) and includes minor formatting adjustments to the header and title. The substantive legal content regarding water reservations, deadlines, and departmental procedures remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

The bill identifier was updated from SB 357 to SB0357.2 in the header and title.

Minor formatting changes were made to spacing and line breaks in the title and section headers.

SB0357_2(9).pdf → SB0357_X.pdf · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill amends Montana's water reservation laws to clarify the department's authority in issuing water rights and to establish specific rules for evaluating out-of-state water applications. It requires the department to adopt new rules for determining application completeness and outlines strict criteria, such as proving no local water shortages exist, before approving water withdrawals for use outside Montana.

Scope change

The bill expands the procedural scope of water reservations by mandating rulemaking for application reviews and adding specific evidentiary requirements for transporting water out of state.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the water department to adopt specific rules to determine if water reservation applications are correct and complete.

Clarified that the department must evaluate applications based on the specific rules in effect at the time the application is submitted.

Established new factors the department must consider when approving water for out-of-state use, including verifying no local water shortages exist and that the water could feasibly alleviate those shortages.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date of the legislation to be immediate.

SB0357_1(5).pdf → SB0357_2.pdf · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text underwent minor formatting and numbering adjustments, including the removal of separator lines and a shift in the page header numbering sequence. No substantive policy changes, such as new eligibility criteria, funding amounts, or legal requirements, were identified in the provided text.

TECHNICAL

Removed decorative separator lines and adjusted page header numbering from 'SB 357.1' to 'SB0357.2'.

LC1457.pdf → SB0357_1.pdf · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from LC 1457 to SB 357 and the sponsor list was updated to include five specific legislators. The text of the bill itself contains no substantive policy changes; all modifications are strictly formatting adjustments, such as adding extra spaces after section numbers and updating the footer to reflect the new bill number.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from LC 1457 to SB 357, and the sponsor information was updated to list W. Galt, J. Seckinger, K. Walsh, R. Miner, and J. Cohenour.

Minor formatting changes were made throughout the document, including adding extra spaces after section headers and updating page footers to reference SB 357 instead of LC 1457.

Extend perfection deadline for certain Missouri River water reservations

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