---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise laws relating to eligibility for public defender services"
description: "Revise laws relating to eligibility for public defender services"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2019"
identifier: "HB 117"
citation: "Montana HB 117 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Criminal Procedure (see also: Law Enforcement)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Kenneth L Holmlund"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 47
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2018-08-22"
last_action: "2019-02-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b0c8a0ec-3518-4443-a40f-a2334dafc1da"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=117&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20191"
source_hash: "e3aab12cb6c35983236e9cc295de3344ecbb93ced6aab895f72fc181a0e4dee6"
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 117 (2019) — Revise laws relating to eligibility for public defender services

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0117_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/HB0199//HB0117_1.pdf)
2. **HB0117_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/HB0199//HB0117_2.pdf)
3. **HB0117_x.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/HB0199//HB0117_x.pdf)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/billpdf/HB0117.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **49–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **73–24** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **48–0** (pass) · upper
- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **16–3** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN — **10–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **81–19** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Kenneth L Holmlund — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-08-22** Draft Request Received
- **2018-11-30** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2018-11-30** Draft in Legal Review
- **2018-12-03** Draft in Edit
- **2018-12-03** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review [SMH]
- **2018-12-03** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2018-12-04** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2018-12-04** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2018-12-04** Executive Director Review
- **2018-12-05** Draft in Assembly
- **2018-12-05** Pre-Introduction Letter Sent
- **2018-12-07** Pre-Introduction Letter Sent
- **2018-12-15** Introduced `introduction`
- **2018-12-15** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2018-12-17** Fiscal Note Requested
- **2018-12-19** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-01-04** Fiscal Note Received
- **2019-01-06** Fiscal Note Signed
- **2019-01-07** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-01-08** Fiscal Note Printed
- **2019-01-11** Hearing
- **2019-01-16** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-01-16** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-01-16** Printed - New Version Available
- **2019-01-18** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-01-18** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2019-01-21** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-01-21** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-01-21** Transmitted to Senate
- **2019-01-22** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-01-23** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-01-29** Hearing
- **2019-01-30** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2019-01-30** Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2019-02-01** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-02-01** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2019-02-02** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-02-02** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-02-02** Returned to House
- **2019-02-04** Sent to Enrolling
- **2019-02-05** Returned from Enrolling
- **2019-02-05** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2019-02-05** Signed by Speaker
- **2019-02-06** Signed by President
- **2019-02-06** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-02-12** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2019-02-13** Chapter Number Assigned

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b0c8a0ec-3518-4443-a40f-a2334dafc1da`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).