---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise laws related to school instruction on the Constitution and the Pledge"
description: "Revise laws related to school instruction on the Constitution and the Pledge"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 543"
citation: "Montana HB 543 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Schools and Education"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bob Phalen"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 51
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-11-19"
last_action: "2021-04-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b869309b-f150-4795-9648-ef6d843fed14"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=543&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "754bc9b76ddaa8207735c899f26c9d39a7dfb53f3ddfc2fe13d0fc350fd3b74c"
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 543 (2021) — Revise laws related to school instruction on the Constitution and the Pledge

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0543_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0599//HB0543_1.pdf)
2. **HB0543_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0599//HB0543_X.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0543.pdf)

## Votes

- DO PASS — **11–6** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN — **8–2** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **33–17** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **66–33** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **67–33** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **34–16** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bob Phalen — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-11-19** Draft Request Received
- **2020-12-02** Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2021-02-09** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-02-15** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-02-17** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-02-17** Draft in Edit
- **2021-02-19** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2021-02-19** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-02-20** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-02-20** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-20** Executive Director Review
- **2021-02-22** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-02-22** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-22** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-02-22** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-22** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-02-22** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-02-22** Fiscal Note Requested
- **2021-02-22** Referred to Committee - (H) Education `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-22** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-22** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-24** Fiscal Note Received
- **2021-02-24** Fiscal Note Signed
- **2021-02-24** Fiscal Note Printed
- **2021-02-24** Hearing - (H) Education
- **2021-02-24** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Education `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-25** Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) Education `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-01** Amendments Available
- **2021-03-01** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-03-01** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-03-02** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-03-02** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-02** Transmitted to Senate
- **2021-03-08** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-08** Referred to Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-15** Hearing - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
- **2021-03-22** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
- **2021-03-23** Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
- **2021-03-25** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-03-25** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2021-03-26** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-03-26** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-26** Returned to House
- **2021-03-29** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-04-01** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-04-01** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-04-07** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-04-08** Signed by President
- **2021-04-09** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-15** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-04-16** 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/b869309b-f150-4795-9648-ef6d843fed14`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).