HB 715 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise injunction laws

HB 715 revises Montana's laws regarding court-issued injunctions, which are orders for a party to either take or refrain from taking certain actions. The bill establishes a clear four-part standard for courts to grant mandatory preliminary injunctions, requiring each criterion to be assessed independently. It also reorganizes and clarifies the standards for prohibitory preliminary injunctions, aiming to align these with federal court precedents. Additionally, the bill defines specific circumstances under which "interpersonal injunction orders" may be issued, such as to prevent property fraud or in cases related to protection orders.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Vetoed
May 2025
Introduced Feb 24, 2025 Vetoed May 8, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0715_X(1).pdf HB0715_X(2).pdf · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to clarify that courts must evaluate preliminary injunction criteria independently without using flexible federal tests, and to explicitly align Montana's legal standards with United States Supreme Court case law. Additionally, new language was added to require courts to consider specific adverse effects on Montana's environment when reviewing proposed actions.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding judicial review of injunctions was narrowed by removing flexible federal testing methods and broadened by adding specific environmental impact requirements.
REQUIREMENT

Removed the allowance for courts to use flexible federal tests like 'sliding scale' or 'serious questions' when evaluating injunctions, requiring a strict independent analysis of each criterion instead.

Added a mandate for courts to explicitly consider adverse effects on Montana's environment that cannot be avoided if a proposal is approved.

Modified the legislative intent statement to require that Montana's injunction standards closely follow United States Supreme Court case law.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 8, 2025 · House Apr 18, 2025

How they voted

3018
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 50
Apr 8, 2025
D Democratic18
17 Nay 1
94% Nay
R Republican32
30 Yea 1 Nay 1
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
41
Key actions
8
Committee
6
Amendments
1
May 8, 2025
Vetoed
(H) Vetoed by Governor
lower
May 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 18, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (64-34-2)
house
Apr 8, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (30-18-2)
senate
Apr 8, 2025
Introduced
(S) Returned to House with Amendments
upper
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary
lower
Mar 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 24, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bill Mercer
Bill Mercer
RRepublican
MT
52