---
type: "Bill"
title: "Private right of action for waste of water"
description: "Private right of action for waste of water"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2019"
identifier: "SB 296"
citation: "Montana SB 296 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts (see also: Judges and Justices; Juries and Jurors)", "Water"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Steve Fitzpatrick"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 53
vote_count: 10
first_action: "2018-11-12"
last_action: "2019-05-03"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bed4de4a-36d5-4fbb-9a3d-5d33b0b30a2c"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=296&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20191"
source_hash: "12961f1c0b83e670d7afc0bbb993e349032aa7a2100ddeb80191a402ccc249a1"
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 SB 296 (2019) — Private right of action for waste of water

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0296_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0299//SB0296_1.pdf)
2. **SB0296_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0299//SB0296_2.pdf)
3. **SB0296_3.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0299//SB0296_3.pdf)
4. **SB0296_x.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0299//SB0296_x.pdf)
5. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/billpdf/SB0296.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **76–24** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **47–53** (fail) · lower
- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **74–23** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- BE CONCURRED IN AS AMENDED — **15–0** (pass) · lower
- ReconsAction-White — **68–25** (pass) · lower
- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **12–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Steve Fitzpatrick — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-11-12** Draft Request Received
- **2018-12-21** Draft On Hold
- **2019-02-15** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2019-02-18** Draft in Legal Review
- **2019-02-18** Draft in Edit
- **2019-02-18** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review [KWK]
- **2019-02-18** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2019-02-18** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2019-02-18** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2019-02-18** Executive Director Review
- **2019-02-18** Draft in Assembly
- **2019-02-19** Executive Director Final Review
- **2019-02-19** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2019-02-19** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2019-02-20** Introduced `introduction`
- **2019-02-20** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-02-20** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-20** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2019-02-22** Hearing
- **2019-02-22** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-02-25** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-02-25** Printed - New Version Available
- **2019-02-27** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-02-27** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2019-02-27** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-02-27** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-02-27** Transmitted to House
- **2019-02-28** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-02-28** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-03-22** Hearing
- **2019-04-03** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended
- **2019-04-04** Committee Report--Bill Concurred as Amended
- **2019-04-04** Printed - New Version Available
- **2019-04-05** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-04-05** 2nd Reading Concur Motion Failed `reading-2`
- **2019-04-05** Reconsidered Previous Action; Placed on 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2019-04-05** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-04-05** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2019-04-08** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-04-08** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-04-08** Returned to Senate with Amendments
- **2019-04-12** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-04-12** 2nd Reading House Amendments Concurred `amendment-passage, amendment-amendment, reading-2`
- **2019-04-13** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-04-13** 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by House `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-04-13** Sent to Enrolling
- **2019-04-16** Returned from Enrolling
- **2019-04-16** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2019-04-23** Signed by President
- **2019-04-26** Signed by Speaker
- **2019-04-29** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-05-02** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2019-05-03** Chapter Number Assigned

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bed4de4a-36d5-4fbb-9a3d-5d33b0b30a2c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).