SB 23 Montana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Increase thresholds for railroad accident reporting requirements

SB 23 revises railroad accident reporting requirements for companies operating in Montana. The bill amends current law to empower the Public Service Commission to adopt rules that set specific thresholds for when a railroad accident must be reported. This grants the Commission the authority to define the criteria for reportable incidents, rather than requiring companies to report every accident. The changes directly affect railroad companies operating in the state and the Public Service Commission.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2024
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Dec 18, 2024 Signed Apr 18, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 7 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB0023_X(5).pdf SB0023_X(6).pdf · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill's title was updated to clarify that the Commission has the authority to set reporting thresholds for railroad regulations. The text was also amended to explicitly state that Section 69-14-252 of the Montana Code Annotated is being amended, and the bill now provides for an immediate effective date.
Scope change
The bill's scope was clarified to specify that the Commission, rather than the Department, holds the authority to set reporting thresholds, and the amendment explicitly targets Section 69-14-252.
REQUIREMENT

The authority to set reporting thresholds was changed from the 'Department' to the 'Commission'.

The amendment to Section 69-14-252 was made explicit in the title.

TIMELINE

The bill now includes a provision for an immediate effective date.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting changes were made to the bill's header and title structure.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 26, 2025 · House Mar 20, 2025

How they voted

500
Passed
Total votes 50
Mar 26, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican32
32 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
42
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
1
Apr 17, 2025
Signed into law
(S) Signed by Governor
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (50-0)
senate
Mar 20, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (97-1-2)
house
Mar 20, 2025
Introduced
(H) Returned to Senate with Amendments
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Feb 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Energy, Technology and Federal Relations
lower
Jan 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Energy, Technology & Federal Relations
upper
Jan 21, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Energy, Technology & Federal Relations
upper
Jan 7, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Energy, Technology & Federal Relations
upper
Dec 18, 2024
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Daniel Zolnikov
Daniel Zolnikov
RRepublican
MT
22