---
type: "Bill"
title: "Provide right-of-first-refusal for certain transmission lines"
description: "Provide right-of-first-refusal for certain transmission lines"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2017"
identifier: "HB 297"
citation: "Montana HB 297 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Energy"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Adam Hertz"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 44
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2016-11-02"
last_action: "2017-04-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fe034ea3-9cbe-4d0c-86a7-d232b110dcbd"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0203W$BSRV.ActionQuery?P_SESS=20171&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=&P_BILL_NO=&P_BILL_DFT_NO=LC0618&P_CHPT_NO=&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SBJT_SBJ_CD=&P_ENTY_ID_SEQ="
source_hash: "ab835f313bf248d6baa91fe122273b3cea18d697e54d97785d4bb497315c7439"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-mt"]
---

# Montana HB 297 (2017) — Provide right-of-first-refusal for certain transmission lines

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2017/BillPdf/HB0297.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Pass — **98–1** (pass) · legislature
- BE CONCURRED IN — **13–0** (pass) · legislature
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · legislature
- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **16–0** (pass) · legislature
- Do Concur — **48–0** (pass) · legislature
- Do Pass — **98–2** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Adam Hertz — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-11-02** Draft Request Received
- **2017-01-13** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2017-01-13** Draft in Legal Review
- **2017-01-14** Draft in Edit
- **2017-01-17** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review [SMH]
- **2017-01-17** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2017-01-17** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2017-01-17** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2017-01-17** Executive Director Review
- **2017-01-17** Draft in Assembly
- **2017-01-17** Executive Director Final Review
- **2017-01-17** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2017-01-19** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2017-01-20** Introduced `introduction`
- **2017-01-20** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-20** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2017-01-20** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2017-01-25** Hearing
- **2017-02-03** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2017-02-06** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2017-02-06** Printed - New Version Available
- **2017-02-08** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2017-02-08** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2017-02-09** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2017-02-09** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2017-02-09** Transmitted to Senate
- **2017-02-10** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2017-02-10** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-14** Hearing
- **2017-03-14** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2017-03-15** Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2017-03-17** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2017-03-17** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2017-03-20** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2017-03-20** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2017-03-20** Returned to House
- **2017-03-21** Sent to Enrolling
- **2017-03-22** Returned from Enrolling
- **2017-03-22** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2017-03-24** Signed by Speaker
- **2017-03-27** Signed by President
- **2017-03-27** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-04-06** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2017-04-06** Chapter Number Assigned

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fe034ea3-9cbe-4d0c-86a7-d232b110dcbd`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).