---
type: "Bill"
title: "Provide for the religion is essential act"
description: "Provide for the religion is essential act"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 172"
citation: "Montana SB 172 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Civil Procedure", "Religion", "Torts (see also: Remedies; Liabilities)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["David Howard"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 51
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2020-11-13"
last_action: "2021-05-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1840d19f-4c44-4fca-9ade-d58438d2d7a8"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=172&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "728e2052f15ad962accb99f42e2e3136a586a7f7a24ca7d030e3fa3909cc8fa3"
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 172 (2021) — Provide for the religion is essential act

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0172_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0172_1.pdf)
2. **SB0172_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0172_2.pdf)
3. **SB0172_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0172_X.pdf)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0172.pdf)

## Votes

- DO PASS — **10–1** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **38–12** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **67–33** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **66–33** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN AS AMENDED — **12–8** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **31–19** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **31–19** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **31–19** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- David Howard — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-11-13** Draft Request Received
- **2020-12-08** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2020-12-21** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-02** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-14** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-01-14** Draft in Edit
- **2021-01-19** 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
- **2021-02-01** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-02-01** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-02-01** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-02** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-02** Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-10** Hearing - (S) Judiciary
- **2021-02-12** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (S) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-12** Committee Report--Bill Passed - (S) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-17** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-02-17** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-02-18** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-02-18** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-18** Transmitted to House
- **2021-02-22** Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-22** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-10** Hearing - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-04-08** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-04-10** Printed - New Version Available
- **2021-04-12** Committee Report--Bill Concurred as Amended - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-04-14** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-04-14** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2021-04-15** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-04-15** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-15** Returned to Senate with Amendments
- **2021-04-23** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-04-23** 2nd Reading House Amendments Concurred `amendment-amendment, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2021-04-23** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-04-23** 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by House `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-26** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-05-01** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-05-01** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-05-04** Signed by President
- **2021-05-04** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-05-04** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-05-10** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-05-11** 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/1840d19f-4c44-4fca-9ade-d58438d2d7a8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).