---
type: "Bill"
title: "Clarify dinosaur bones and fossils are part of surface estate"
description: "Clarify dinosaur bones and fossils are part of surface estate"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2019"
identifier: "HB 229"
citation: "Montana HB 229 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Mining and Minerals (see also: Oil and Gas)", "Property"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bradley Hamlett"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 48
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2018-11-28"
last_action: "2019-04-17"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4d2d2a80-c923-43c0-b5f1-1d11231efe66"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=229&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20191"
source_hash: "7a61d2cea754e1cfd7696359197f4c12bee5a39f312a460082a27b5cb2048ef4"
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 229 (2019) — Clarify dinosaur bones and fossils are part of surface estate

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0229_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/HB0299//HB0229_1.pdf)
2. **HB0229_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/HB0299//HB0229_2.pdf)
3. **HB0229_x.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/HB0299//HB0229_x.pdf)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/billpdf/HB0229.pdf)

## Votes

- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **15–0** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN — **12–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **100–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **49–1** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bradley Hamlett — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-11-28** Draft Request Received
- **2018-12-17** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2018-12-28** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2018-12-29** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2018-12-29** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2018-12-29** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2019-01-02** Draft in Legal Review
- **2019-01-03** Draft in Edit
- **2019-01-03** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review [KWK]
- **2019-01-03** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2019-01-04** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2019-01-04** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2019-01-04** Executive Director Review
- **2019-01-04** Draft in Assembly
- **2019-01-04** Executive Director Final Review
- **2019-01-05** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2019-01-14** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2019-01-16** Introduced `introduction`
- **2019-01-16** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2019-01-17** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-01-17** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-02-06** Hearing
- **2019-02-20** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-02-21** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-02-21** Printed - New Version Available
- **2019-02-23** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-02-23** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2019-02-25** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-02-25** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-02-25** Transmitted to Senate
- **2019-02-26** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-02-26** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-03-11** Hearing
- **2019-03-11** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2019-03-12** Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2019-03-21** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-03-21** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2019-03-22** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-03-22** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-03-22** Returned to House
- **2019-03-23** Sent to Enrolling
- **2019-03-25** Returned from Enrolling
- **2019-03-25** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2019-03-27** Signed by Speaker
- **2019-04-06** Signed by President
- **2019-04-08** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-04-16** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2019-04-17** Chapter Number Assigned

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/4d2d2a80-c923-43c0-b5f1-1d11231efe66`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).