---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise governor's emergency powers"
description: "Revise governor's emergency powers"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 185"
citation: "Montana SB 185 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Emergency and Disaster Services"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["David Howard"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 49
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-11-17"
last_action: "2021-04-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/81daf109-5ec4-4ef2-92ff-5bae3cac818e"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=185&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "7d990722c76535a37e8ead40a878a94da57c9891d1419b3e3ccd53eda3700a90"
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 185 (2021) — Revise governor's emergency powers

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0185_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0185_1.pdf)
2. **SB0185_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0185_2.pdf)
3. **SB0185_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0199//SB0185_X.pdf)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0185.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **66–33** (pass) · lower
- BE CONCURRED IN — **12–8** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **66–33** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **31–18** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **31–18** (pass) · upper
- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **7–4** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- David Howard — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-11-17** Draft Request Received
- **2021-01-29** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-01-29** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-01-30** Draft in Edit
- **2021-02-02** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2021-02-02** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-02-02** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-02-02** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-02** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-02-02** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-02-02** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-03** Executive Director Review
- **2021-02-04** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-02-04** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-04** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-02-04** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-05** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-02-05** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-02-05** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-08** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-08** Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-12** Hearing - (S) Judiciary
- **2021-02-15** Amendments Available
- **2021-02-16** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended - (S) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-17** Printed - New Version Available
- **2021-02-17** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended - (S) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-19** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-02-19** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-02-20** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-02-20** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-20** Transmitted to House
- **2021-02-23** Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-23** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-10** Hearing - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-04-08** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-04-12** Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (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
- **2021-04-20** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-04-21** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-04-21** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-04-23** Signed by President
- **2021-04-23** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-04-23** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-29** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-04-30** 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/81daf109-5ec4-4ef2-92ff-5bae3cac818e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).