---
type: "Bill"
title: "Allow a county commission to hold certain zoning appeal hearings de novo"
description: "Allow a county commission to hold certain zoning appeal hearings de novo"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 135"
citation: "Montana SB 135 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Counties (see also: Local Government)", "Planning and Development"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Steve Fitzpatrick"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 45
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-08-27"
last_action: "2021-04-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1635bba1-8eed-4661-b55d-8f866e430367"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=135&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "4b6df493a7f5974a916db8afe845e5aeca5615de9e04d52891e7eba7f53c61b6"
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 135 (2021) — Allow a county commission to hold certain zoning appeal hearings de novo

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0135_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0135_1.pdf)
2. **SB0135_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0135_X.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0135.pdf)

## Votes

- BE CONCURRED IN — **15–2** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **86–14** (pass) · lower
- DO PASS — **9–1** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **85–13** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Steve Fitzpatrick — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-08-27** Draft Request Received
- **2021-01-13** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-14** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-01-14** Draft in Edit
- **2021-01-20** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2021-01-20** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-01-20** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-01-20** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-01-20** Executive Director Review
- **2021-01-20** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-01-21** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-01-21** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-01-21** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-01-21** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-01-21** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-01-21** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-01-22** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-01-22** Referred to Committee - (S) Local Government `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-29** Hearing - (S) Local Government
- **2021-02-05** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (S) Local Government `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-08** Committee Report--Bill Passed - (S) Local Government `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-16** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-02-16** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-02-17** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-02-17** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-17** Transmitted to House
- **2021-02-19** Referred to Committee - (H) Local Government `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-19** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-11** Hearing - (H) Local Government
- **2021-03-16** Amendments Available
- **2021-03-16** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (H) Local Government
- **2021-03-17** Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (H) Local Government
- **2021-03-24** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-03-24** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2021-03-25** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-03-25** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-25** Returned to Senate
- **2021-03-26** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-03-30** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-03-30** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-04-07** Signed by President
- **2021-04-12** Signed by Speaker
- **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/1635bba1-8eed-4661-b55d-8f866e430367`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).