---
type: "Bill"
title: "Restrict use of eminent domain"
description: "Restrict use of eminent domain"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 159"
citation: "Montana SB 159 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Property"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Becky Beard"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 44
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-09-14T17:28:39+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-24T20:37:06+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/08f9c77d-7db9-4c3f-acd7-cb91b41e2787"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC0339"
source_hash: "1356db2e9d4dc4b5efb0f99fac82cdc6af79d4e957d01fb15209b7c2a010a8b1"
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 159 (2023) — Restrict use of eminent domain

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0159_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4648)
2. **SB0159_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4647)

## Votes

- (H) 2nd Reading Concurred — **68–32** (pass) · lower
- (H) 3rd Reading Concurred — **66–31** (pass) · lower
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **14–5** (pass) · lower
- (S) 3rd Reading Passed — **33–16** (pass) · upper
- (S) 2nd Reading Passed — **34–15** (pass) · upper
- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **7–4** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Becky Beard — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-04-24T20:37:06+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-04-24T16:08:00+00:00** (S) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-17T19:51:00+00:00** (S) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-14T16:40:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-07T17:10:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-05T15:34:15+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-05T15:33:23+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-03-30T16:04:47+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-03-30T00:08:28+00:00** (H) Returned to Senate
- **2023-03-29T21:23:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-29T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-28T19:25:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-03-28T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-21T19:20:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-21T14:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-17T14:00:00+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-03-11T15:11:19+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-11T14:27:35+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-26T22:27:36+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2023-01-25T21:56:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-01-25T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-01-24T20:57:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-01-24T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-01-19T20:25:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-19T18:16:49+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-18T16:00:57+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-01-12T18:58:15+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-11T21:53:10+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-11T20:15:31+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2023-01-11T18:41:08+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-01-10T17:14:27+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-09T22:44:44+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-01-09T22:44:37+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-09T21:50:24+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-01-09T20:34:56+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-01-09T18:07:31+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-09T18:07:30+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-01-07T20:20:40+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2022-12-21T17:14:00+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2022-12-06T16:37:02+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2022-12-06T01:32:18+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2022-12-04T23:49:12+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-10-24T21:52:55+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-09-14T17:28:39+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/08f9c77d-7db9-4c3f-acd7-cb91b41e2787`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).