---
type: "Bill"
title: "Generally revise civil liability laws relating to damages"
description: "Generally revise civil liability laws relating to damages"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 251"
citation: "Montana SB 251 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Liability (see also: Remedies; Torts)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cary Smith"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 54
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2021-01-07"
last_action: "2021-04-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/92e33b18-ecc1-473a-9f28-8fd2cd2094b6"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=251&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "5fb5a67c650466327d737dbfe881c8c692cbc3b0ded052e9be351b92a91a1709"
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 251 (2021) — Generally revise civil liability laws relating to damages

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0251_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0299//SB0251_1.pdf)
2. **SB0251_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0299//SB0251_2.pdf)
3. **SB0251_3.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0299//SB0251_3.pdf)
4. **SB0251_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0299//SB0251_X.pdf)
5. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0251.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **65–35** (pass) · lower
- DO PASS AS AMENDED — **7–4** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **31–19** (pass) · upper
- BE CONCURRED IN AS AMENDED — **12–8** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **31–19** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **63–34** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **31–19** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **31–19** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Cary Smith — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-07** Draft Request Received
- **2021-02-08** Draft to Requester for Review
- **2021-02-08** Draft in Legal Review
- **2021-02-09** Draft in Edit
- **2021-02-10** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2021-02-12** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2021-02-12** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2021-02-12** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-12** Executive Director Review
- **2021-02-12** Draft in Assembly
- **2021-02-13** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-13** Executive Director Final Review
- **2021-02-15** Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2021-02-15** Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2021-02-15** Introduced `introduction`
- **2021-02-15** Fiscal Note Requested
- **2021-02-15** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2021-02-15** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-16** Referred to Committee - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-19** Hearing - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs
- **2021-02-22** Fiscal Note Received
- **2021-02-22** Fiscal Note Signed
- **2021-02-22** Fiscal Note Printed
- **2021-02-24** Amendments Available
- **2021-02-25** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-25** Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended - (S) Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-25** Printed - New Version Available
- **2021-02-27** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-02-27** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-03-01** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-03-01** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-01** Transmitted to House
- **2021-03-01** Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-01** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-03-18** Hearing - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-03-26** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-03-29** Committee Report--Bill Concurred as Amended - (H) Business and Labor
- **2021-03-29** Printed - New Version Available
- **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 Senate with Amendments
- **2021-04-15** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-04-15** 2nd Reading House Amendments Concurred `amendment-amendment, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2021-04-15** 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by House `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-15** 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`
- **2021-04-30** 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/92e33b18-ecc1-473a-9f28-8fd2cd2094b6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).