Revise speed limit laws
HB 312 revises speed limit laws for drivers in Montana. The bill increases the daytime speed limit to 75 miles per hour and the nighttime speed limit to 70 miles per hour on national highways that have been expanded to four lanes and are at least 15 miles long, except in special speed zones. It also updates the penalty section to reflect these new speed limits, maintaining that minor speeding violations (up to 10 mph daytime or 5 mph nighttime) are generally not recorded against a driver's record, with specific exceptions for commercial drivers or high-speed violations on interstates.
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
May 2025
Introduced Jan 24, 2025
Signed May 5, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
HB0312_2(11).pdf
→
HB0312_X.pdf
·
4 edits
MODERATE
This bill updates Montana's speed limit laws by raising the maximum daytime speed on expanded four-lane national highways to 75 mph (from 70 mph) and increasing the nighttime limit to 70 mph (from 65 mph). It also adds a new speed limit of 70 mph for daytime and 65 mph for nighttime on other public highways not covered by the previous specific categories. These changes aim to modernize speed limits to reflect current roadway conditions and traffic patterns.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of higher speed limits to include 'any other public highway' in addition to interstate highways and expanded four-lane national highways, effectively setting a new default speed limit for roads not previously explicitly categorized in the statute.
REQUIREMENT
Increased the maximum daytime speed limit on expanded four-lane national highways from 70 mph to 75 mph.
Increased the maximum nighttime speed limit on expanded four-lane national highways from 65 mph to 70 mph.
Established a new speed limit of 70 mph during the day and 65 mph at night for any other public highway not covered by specific interstate or expanded highway categories.
ENFORCEMENT
Updated the penalty fine schedule to reflect the new speed limits and adjusted the thresholds for when a speeding violation becomes a criminal offense or affects driver records.
Floor votes · Senate Apr 10, 2025 · House Feb 12, 2025
How they voted
44–4
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 50
Apr 10, 2025
D
Democratic18
88% Yea
R
Republican32
87% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
41
Key actions
9
Committee
6
May 1, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 10, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (44-4-2)
senate
Mar 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Highways and Transportation
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Highways and Transportation
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Highways and Transportation
upper
Feb 12, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (78-22)
house
Feb 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Transportation
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Transportation
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Transportation
lower
Jan 24, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Jedediah Hinkle
RRepublican
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