---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise laws related to counsel for children in abuse and neglect cases"
description: "Revise laws related to counsel for children in abuse and neglect cases"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 555"
citation: "Montana HB 555 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts (see also: Judges and Justices; Juries and Jurors)", "Minors (see also: Family Law)", "Rule Making", "Social Services"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jennifer Carlson"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 53
vote_count: 9
first_action: "2022-11-13T22:56:22+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-20T23:18:09+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/22740436-6fc4-4d56-91ec-138f0a4ce242"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC1139"
source_hash: "ce03ea30b584d94e02c646ba86e5cfc485f04ecc8bb7ab6308a69db5366be64d"
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 555 (2023) — Revise laws related to counsel for children in abuse and neglect cases

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0555.001.001.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8870)
2. **HB0555.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-condensed.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8868)
3. **HB0555.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8867)
4. **HB0555.001.002_Amendments-in-Context_final-condensed.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8869)
5. **HB0555.001.002_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8866)
6. **HB0555_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8874)
7. **HB0555_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8873)
8. **HB0555_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=8872)

## Votes

- (H) 3rd Reading Passed — **98–1** (pass) · lower
- (H) 2nd Reading Motion to Amend Failed — **50–50** (fail) · lower
- (H) 2nd Reading Senate Amendments Concurred — **99–1** (pass) · lower
- (H) 2nd Reading Passed — **100–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) 3rd Reading Concurred — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- (H) 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by Senate — **98–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) 2nd Reading Concurred — **49–1** (pass) · upper
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **19–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended — **11–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Jennifer Carlson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-04-20T23:18:09+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-04-20T16:30:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-13T16:45:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-12T18:00:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-07T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-06T20:35:25+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-06T20:34:45+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-01T00:42:01+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-03-31T19:48:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by Senate `passage, passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2023-03-31T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-30T19:47:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Senate Amendments Concurred `amendment-amendment, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-03-30T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-27T21:36:25+00:00** (S) Returned to House with Amendments
- **2023-03-24T21:13:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-24T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-23T20:03:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-03-23T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-21T20:51:58+00:00** (C) Printed - New Version Available
- **2023-03-21T19:16:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred as Amended
- **2023-03-21T14:00:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended
- **2023-03-17T15:00:00+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-03-14T14:17:26+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-10T00:13:45+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-03T17:19:14+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2023-03-03T04:13:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-01T16:08:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-03-01T16:07:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Motion to Amend Failed `amendment-failure, failure, reading-2`
- **2023-02-25T03:53:45+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2023-02-24T23:28:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-24T15:50:20+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Unsigned
- **2023-02-24T14:42:21+00:00** (C) Amendments Available
- **2023-02-23T14:46:17+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2023-02-22T17:10:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-22T14:00:12+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-02-16T20:31:34+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-16T17:45:21+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-15T16:19:50+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2023-02-15T16:02:28+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-15T15:45:46+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2023-02-15T15:45:45+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Probable
- **2023-02-14T14:57:43+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-02-13T18:16:44+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-02-12T20:47:27+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-02-12T20:47:23+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-02-12T14:18:47+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-02-11T21:13:53+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-02-10T19:16:06+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-10T19:16:05+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-02-10T18:15:26+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-02-09T17:48:47+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-02-06T19:30:10+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-02-05T21:57:12+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2022-11-13T22:56:22+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/22740436-6fc4-4d56-91ec-138f0a4ce242`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).