---
type: "Bill"
title: "Allow omnibus hearings to be conducted remotely"
description: "Allow omnibus hearings to be conducted remotely"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2019"
identifier: "SB 43"
citation: "Montana SB 43 (2019)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts (see also: Judges and Justices; Juries and Jurors)", "Criminal Procedure (see also: Law Enforcement)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Margaret (Margie) MacDonald"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 52
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2018-08-22"
last_action: "2019-05-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7e2b1c68-c7c8-4513-976e-cbe443418ae5"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=43&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20191"
source_hash: "40c15a44df83c118f27f2d5d80b987942584220782d7fe0f884e654bbef3974c"
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 43 (2019) — Allow omnibus hearings to be conducted remotely

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0043_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0099//SB0043_1.pdf)
2. **SB0043_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0099//SB0043_2.pdf)
3. **SB0043_x.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/SB0099//SB0043_x.pdf)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2019/billpdf/SB0043.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **93–7** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **91–4** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **10–0** (pass) · upper
- BE CONCURRED IN — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN — **19–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Margaret (Margie) MacDonald — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2018-08-22** Draft Request Received
- **2018-11-14** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2018-11-20** Fiscal Note Probable
- **2018-11-20** Draft in Legal Review
- **2018-11-20** Draft in Edit
- **2018-11-20** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review [CMD]
- **2018-11-20** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2018-11-29** Executive Director Review
- **2018-11-29** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2018-11-29** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2018-11-29** Draft in Assembly
- **2018-11-30** Pre-Introduction Letter Sent
- **2018-12-07** Pre-Introduction Letter Sent
- **2018-12-12** Introduced `introduction`
- **2018-12-12** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2018-12-12** Fiscal Note Requested
- **2018-12-21** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-01-03** Fiscal Note Received
- **2019-01-07** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-01-07** Fiscal Note Signed
- **2019-01-09** Fiscal Note Printed
- **2019-01-11** Hearing
- **2019-01-15** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-01-15** Printed - New Version Available
- **2019-01-15** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2019-01-17** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-01-17** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2019-01-18** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-01-18** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-01-18** Transmitted to House
- **2019-01-22** Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-01-22** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2019-04-05** Hearing
- **2019-04-05** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2019-04-05** Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2019-04-09** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2019-04-09** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2019-04-09** Rereferred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-04-10** Hearing
- **2019-04-10** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2019-04-11** Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2019-04-13** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2019-04-13** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2019-04-13** Returned to Senate
- **2019-04-13** Sent to Enrolling
- **2019-04-16** Returned from Enrolling
- **2019-04-16** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2019-04-25** Signed by President
- **2019-04-26** Signed by Speaker
- **2019-04-29** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-05-03** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2019-05-06** Chapter Number Assigned

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7e2b1c68-c7c8-4513-976e-cbe443418ae5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).