---
type: "Bill"
title: "Generally revise civil liability laws for government"
description: "Generally revise civil liability laws for government"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 435"
citation: "Montana HB 435 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Liability (see also: Remedies; Torts)", "State/Other Government Levels", "Immunity From Suit"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Mercer"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 62
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2020-11-22"
last_action: "2021-05-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2df592b7-c508-4ff9-a435-0cac35c6880b"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=435&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "f3d75e821bfaa5a632348c9448c60fb7f17dced07f101fc04f262bf4ba92b90b"
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 435 (2021) — Generally revise civil liability laws for government

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0435_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0499//HB0435_1.pdf)
2. **HB0435_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0499//HB0435_X.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0435.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Pass — **66–34** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **67–32** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **42–8** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **31–19** (fail) · upper
- Do Concur — **31–19** (pass) · upper
- BE CONCURRED IN — **7–4** (pass) · upper
- DO PASS — **12–7** (pass) · lower
- ReconsAction -Smith C — **34–16** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bill Mercer — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-11-22** Draft Request Received
- **2020-11-25** Draft On Hold
- **2021-01-08** Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2021-01-12** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-14** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-16** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-18** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-20** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-01-21** Draft in Edit
- **2021-01-24** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2021-01-25** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-01-28** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-01-28** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-01-28** Executive Director Review
- **2021-01-29** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-01-29** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-01-29** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-01-29** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-02** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-02-02** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-02-09** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-02-10** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-02-10** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-11** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-02-11** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-11** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-02-16** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-02-16** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-02-16** Fiscal Note Requested
- **2021-02-16** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-17** Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-17** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-22** Hearing - (H) Judiciary
- **2021-02-22** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-24** Fiscal Note Received
- **2021-02-24** Fiscal Note Signed
- **2021-02-24** Fiscal Note Printed
- **2021-02-24** Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-26** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-02-26** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-03-01** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-03-01** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-01** Transmitted to Senate
- **2021-03-01** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-08** Referred to Committee - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-19** Hearing - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-03-22** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-03-22** Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-04-28** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-04-28** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2021-04-28** 3rd Reading Failed `failure, reading-3`
- **2021-04-29** Reconsidered Previous Action; Remains in 3rd Reading Process `reading-3`
- **2021-04-29** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-29** Returned to House
- **2021-04-29** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-05-03** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-05-03** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-05-04** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-05-04** Signed by President
- **2021-05-04** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-05-14** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-05-14** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2df592b7-c508-4ff9-a435-0cac35c6880b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).