HB 869 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Provide for the sudden cardiac arrest prevention in youth sports

HB 869, titled "Provide for the sudden cardiac arrest prevention in youth sports," establishes measures to prevent sudden cardiac arrest in youth athletes. It requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop informational resources on cardiac arrest symptoms and risks. Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, schools with athletic programs must implement cardiac emergency response plans, including accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and staff training in CPR and AED use. Coaches will be required to be certified in CPR, first aid, and AED use, and hold informational meetings for parents and athletes. The bill also allows coaches or officials to remove athletes exhibiting cardiac arrest symptoms, who then require written medical clearance to return to play, and clarifies that AED purchases are an allowable expenditure for school safety.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Mar 25, 2025 Signed May 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0869_X(2).pdf HB0869_X(3).pdf · 1 edit
MINOR
The bill removed the text specifying that it amends two existing sections of the Montana Code Annotated (20-9-236 and 20-9-502), while keeping the instruction to provide a definition, an appropriation, and an effective date. This change simplifies the bill's title by omitting the specific sections being amended, likely because the amendment details are contained within the body of the bill rather than the title.
Scope change
The scope of the bill's title was narrowed by removing references to specific existing statutes, but the substantive scope of the legislation itself remains unchanged as the amendments are still included in the bill text.
TECHNICAL

Removed the specific citation of sections 20-9-236 and 20-9-502 from the bill's title.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 18, 2025 · House Apr 5, 2025

How they voted

455
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 18, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
27 Yea 5 Nay
84% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
54
Key actions
9
Committee
6
May 13, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 18, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (45-5)
senate
Apr 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Apr 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Apr 5, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (75-23-2)
house
Apr 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Education
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Education
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Education
lower
Mar 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Melissa Romano
Melissa Romano
DDemocratic
MT
80