HB 642 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise civil liability laws

HB 642 revises public nuisance laws by specifically adding camping in violation of a city ordinance or state statute to the definition of a public nuisance. This means that individuals engaging in unauthorized camping could be deemed to be maintaining a public nuisance. The bill amends existing state law (Section 45-8-111, MCA) to incorporate this provision. Maintaining a public nuisance is an offense punishable by a fine not exceeding $500, with each day of the conduct constituting a separate offense.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Feb 21, 2025 Signed May 5, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0642_2(1).pdf → HB0642_X(6).pdf · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was formally enrolled and passed by the legislature, changing its status from a draft proposal to an official law. The text was cleaned up to remove formatting artifacts and standardize the header, but the core legal definition of public nuisance regarding camping violations remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope is unchanged; it continues to define camping in violation of an ordinance or statute as a public nuisance.

TECHNICAL

The document was updated from a draft version to an enrolled bill, including the addition of certification signatures for the House and Senate and the removal of draft-specific formatting markers.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 15, 2025 · House Mar 7, 2025

How they voted

34–16

Passed

Total votes 50

Apr 15, 2025

D Democratic18

2 Yea 16 Nay

88% Nay

R Republican32

32 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 1, 2025

Signed into law

(H) Signed by Governor

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Signed by President

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Signed by Speaker

lower

Apr 15, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (34-16)

senate

Mar 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary

upper

Mar 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary

upper

Mar 14, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary

upper

Mar 7, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (57-42-1)

house

Mar 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary

lower

Mar 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary

lower

Feb 22, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary

lower

Feb 21, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors