---
type: "Bill"
title: "Require consideration of less restrictive options in guardianship proceedings"
description: "Require consideration of less restrictive options in guardianship proceedings"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 31"
citation: "Montana SB 31 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts (see also: Judges and Justices; Juries and Jurors)", "Senior Citizens (see also: Retirement)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Mary McNally"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 39
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-08-31"
last_action: "2021-03-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/609bdb63-d6db-4609-90ac-a8b6672bed26"
source_url: "http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0210W$BSIV.ActionQuery?P_BILL_NO1=31&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=SB&Z_ACTION=Find&P_SESS=20211"
source_hash: "30e178716a14cc4cab2d0bdc606f945bddf270eaced16e6f87eaa0feff522781"
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 31 (2021) — Require consideration of less restrictive options in guardianship proceedings

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0031_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0099//SB0031_1.pdf)
2. **SB0031_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/SB0099//SB0031_X.pdf)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0031.pdf)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **100–0** (pass) · lower
- DO PASS — **11–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- BE CONCURRED IN — **17–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **48–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Mary McNally — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-08-31** Draft Request Received
- **2020-09-23** Draft in Legal Review
- **2020-10-13** Draft in Edit
- **2020-11-02** Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2020-11-17** Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2020-11-30** Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2020-11-30** Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2020-12-05** Executive Director Review
- **2020-12-05** Draft in Assembly
- **2020-12-15** Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2020-12-24** Introduced `introduction`
- **2020-12-28** Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-04** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-01-08** Hearing - (S) Judiciary
- **2021-01-15** Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (S) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-01-18** Committee Report--Bill Passed - (S) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2021-01-21** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-01-21** 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2`
- **2021-01-22** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-01-22** 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-01-22** Transmitted to House
- **2021-01-26** Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-26** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2021-02-04** Hearing - (H) Judiciary
- **2021-02-04** Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (H) Judiciary
- **2021-02-04** Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (H) Judiciary
- **2021-02-10** Scheduled for 2nd Reading
- **2021-02-10** 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2`
- **2021-02-11** Scheduled for 3rd Reading
- **2021-02-11** 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-11** Returned to Senate
- **2021-02-12** Sent to Enrolling
- **2021-02-16** Returned from Enrolling
- **2021-02-16** Printed - Enrolled Version Available
- **2021-02-19** Signed by President
- **2021-02-19** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-02-22** Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-03-01** Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-03-01** 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/609bdb63-d6db-4609-90ac-a8b6672bed26`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).