---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise disposition of civil fines under consumer protection act"
description: "Revise disposition of civil fines under consumer protection act"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 589"
citation: "Montana HB 589 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Consumer Protection", "Revenue", "State", "State Finance (see also: Appropriations; Taxation Subjects)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Mercer"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 54
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-11-10"
last_action: "2021-04-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e7a0ea64-5bfc-4e34-94b6-61e451e1acf4"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=589&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "ae7dc1dabed34e959bc0007f5d9737867cbfec5d4640c8f222f2e936a2fa5128"
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 589 (2021) — Revise disposition of civil fines under consumer protection act

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0589_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0599//HB0589_1.pdf)
2. **HB0589_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/HB0599//HB0589_X.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0589.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Pass — **72–26** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **73–27** (pass) · lower
- DO PASS — **12–8** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN — **10–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bill Mercer — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-11-10** Draft Request Received
- **2020-11-12** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-02-15** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-02-16** Draft in Edit
- **2021-02-17** 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** 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 in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-02-22** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-22** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-02-23** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-23** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-02-23** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-23** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-02-23** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-02-23** Fiscal Note Requested
- **2021-02-23** Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-23** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-24** Hearing - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-02-24** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-26** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Business and Labor `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-01** Fiscal Note Received
- **2021-03-01** Fiscal Note Signed
- **2021-03-01** Fiscal Note Printed
- **2021-03-01** Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) Business and Labor `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-10** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-03-10** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-03-11** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-03-11** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-11** Transmitted to Senate
- **2021-03-12** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-12** Referred to Committee - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-24** Hearing - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-03-26** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-03-26** Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-03-31** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-03-31** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2021-04-01** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-04-01** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-01** Returned to House
- **2021-04-06** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-04-09** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-04-09** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-04-12** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-04-13** Signed by President
- **2021-04-13** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-20** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-04-21** 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/e7a0ea64-5bfc-4e34-94b6-61e451e1acf4`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).