HB 278 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Require peace officer to check and report immigration status during lawful stop

HB 278 requires peace officers, during a lawful investigative stop, to make a reasonable attempt to determine a person's immigration status, unless it is impractical or would hinder an investigation. If the officer determines the person is not lawfully present in the United States, the bill mandates that this information be reported to a federal immigration agency. This affects peace officers by adding new duties during stops and impacts individuals who are lawfully stopped, as their immigration status may now be checked and reported.

Issues: ✗ Immigration

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Signed Apr 17, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0278_X(5).pdf → HB0278_X(6).pdf · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill's title was slightly reworded to improve clarity by explicitly stating that the peace officer is the one performing the check and reporting. The amendment section was updated to include the word 'AMENDING' before the specific statute number, clarifying the legislative intent.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains unchanged; it still authorizes peace officers to check and report immigration status during lawful stops.

TECHNICAL

The title was edited to explicitly identify the 'peace officer' as the subject performing the actions, removing a minor grammatical ambiguity.

The amendment clause was updated to include the word 'AMENDING' to formally describe the action taken on Section 46-5-401.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 1, 2025 · House Feb 12, 2025

How they voted

30–20

Passed

Total votes 50

Apr 1, 2025

D Democratic18

18 Nay

100% Nay

R Republican32

30 Yea 2 Nay

93% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 16, 2025

Signed into law

(H) Signed by Governor

lower

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Signed by President

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Signed by Speaker

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (30-20)

senate

Mar 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary

upper

Feb 12, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (60-40)

house

Feb 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary

lower

Feb 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary

lower

Jan 22, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors