---
type: "Bill"
title: "Authorize cancellation of local uncontested general elections by municipalities"
description: "Authorize cancellation of local uncontested general elections by municipalities"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2017"
identifier: "HB 447"
citation: "Montana HB 447 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections (see also: Ballot Issues)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ross H Fitzgerald"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 46
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2016-11-14"
last_action: "2017-04-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/88d7979c-2e2a-409a-a48e-aea8ff830c1c"
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=LC0725&P_CHPT_NO=&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SBJT_SBJ_CD=&P_ENTY_ID_SEQ="
source_hash: "4a03e8fc634306069d54476d32620b4bf589907a2455d735753d38f3a3955863"
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 447 (2017) — Authorize cancellation of local uncontested general elections by municipalities

## 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/HB0447.pdf)

## Votes

- DO PASS — **12–8** (pass) · legislature
- BE CONCURRED IN — **8–0** (pass) · legislature
- Do Concur — **46–4** (pass) · legislature
- Do Concur — **48–2** (pass) · legislature
- Do Pass — **65–35** (pass) · legislature
- Do Pass — **66–33** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Ross H Fitzgerald — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2016-11-14** Draft Request Received
- **2017-02-01** Draft On Hold
- **2017-02-01** Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2017-02-01** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2017-02-03** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2017-02-06** Draft in Legal Review
- **2017-02-07** Draft in Edit
- **2017-02-08** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review [KWK]
- **2017-02-08** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2017-02-08** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2017-02-08** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2017-02-08** Executive Director Review
- **2017-02-08** Draft in Assembly
- **2017-02-09** Executive Director Final Review
- **2017-02-09** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2017-02-09** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2017-02-13** Introduced `introduction`
- **2017-02-13** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-13** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2017-02-13** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2017-02-22** Hearing
- **2017-02-24** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2017-02-24** Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2017-02-25** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2017-02-25** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2017-02-27** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2017-02-27** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2017-02-27** Transmitted to Senate
- **2017-03-06** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2017-03-06** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-13** Hearing
- **2017-03-15** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2017-03-16** Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2017-03-23** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2017-03-23** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2017-03-24** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2017-03-24** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2017-03-24** Returned to House
- **2017-03-27** Sent to Enrolling
- **2017-03-27** Returned from Enrolling
- **2017-03-27** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2017-03-28** Signed by Speaker
- **2017-03-29** Signed by President
- **2017-03-29** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2017-04-07** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2017-04-07** Chapter Number Assigned

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/88d7979c-2e2a-409a-a48e-aea8ff830c1c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).