---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise public access agreement laws"
description: "Revise public access agreement laws"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 438"
citation: "Montana HB 438 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Fish and Wildlife", "Property", "Recreation/Parks/Sports"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Denley Loge"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 50
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-11-10T22:31:23+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-26T19:36:30+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/895827fc-e6bc-4b1c-b928-b2279e92340b"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC1061"
source_hash: "d536aa25af44bc5372e4b043ae4b476d3c477212140c40d0ca15c21755e4fc1d"
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 HB 438 (2023) — Revise public access agreement laws

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0438.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12626)
2. **HB0438_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12624)
3. **HB0438_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12625)

## Votes

- (H) 3rd Reading Passed — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) 3rd Reading Concurred — **48–0** (pass) · upper
- (S) 2nd Reading Concurred — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- (H) 2nd Reading Passed — **100–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **12–0** (pass) · upper
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **15–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Denley Loge — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-04-26T19:36:30+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-04-26T00:42:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-21T16:40:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-20T22:00:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-20T20:40:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-17T17:02:29+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-17T17:02:28+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-13T16:04:55+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-13T15:25:22+00:00** (S) Returned to House
- **2023-04-12T19:50:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-12T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-11T20:16:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-11T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-04-05T19:33:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-04-04T21:00:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-23T21:00:00+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-03-13T19:22:05+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-27T20:32:00+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-27T18:47:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2023-02-24T23:16:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-24T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-02-23T20:57:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-02-23T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-02-21T20:13:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-17T22:14:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-17T22:00:03+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-02-15T23:08:25+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2023-02-15T20:24:03+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Signed
- **2023-02-15T20:04:32+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2023-02-09T20:20:03+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-09T19:12:34+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-07T22:02:57+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-07T20:48:29+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2023-02-07T20:47:22+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2023-02-07T18:31:35+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-02-07T01:05:35+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-02-06T15:43:24+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-02-06T15:43:18+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-02-04T19:31:26+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-02-04T00:26:20+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-02-03T17:47:47+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-03T17:47:46+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-02-03T15:09:07+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-02-03T02:17:11+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-01-31T23:42:42+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-01-31T19:01:22+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2023-01-27T19:36:48+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2023-01-27T18:07:04+00:00** (C) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2023-01-13T17:19:28+00:00** (C) Draft On Hold
- **2022-11-10T22:31:23+00:00** (C) Draft Request Received `receipt`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/895827fc-e6bc-4b1c-b928-b2279e92340b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).