---
type: "Bill"
title: "Provide notice to foster parents in CPS cases"
description: "Provide notice to foster parents in CPS cases"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 162"
citation: "Montana SB 162 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts (see also: Judges and Justices; Juries and Jurors)", "Minors (see also: Family Law)", "Social Services"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dennis Lenz"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 52
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-10-03T17:56:43+00:00"
last_action: "2023-05-02T15:40:43+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/14d0d891-df6e-41dd-b8fa-2cf3ab5f3cd6"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC0528"
source_hash: "df9fd0772c50fdbbf169b86fe8cbbee375aad7cac6d110fdb81fbcb6759157e3"
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 162 (2023) — Provide notice to foster parents in CPS cases

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0162_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4691)
2. **SB0162_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4690)

## Votes

- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **19–2** (pass) · lower
- (S) 2nd Reading Passed — **49–0** (pass) · upper
- (H) 2nd Reading Concurred — **96–3** (pass) · lower
- (S) 3rd Reading Passed — **49–0** (pass) · upper
- (H) 3rd Reading Concurred — **88–4** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Dennis Lenz — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-05-02T15:40:43+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-05-01T19:20:00+00:00** (S) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-24T16:50:00+00:00** (S) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-22T14:30:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-19T16:00:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-13T20:53:59+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-13T19:34:56+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-07T21:14:47+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-06T23:17:55+00:00** (H) Returned to Senate
- **2023-04-06T22:10:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-06T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-05T20:32:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-05T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-21T19:12:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-20T21:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-17T21:00:00+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-03-11T15:11:19+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-11T14:28:09+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-30T22:04:05+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2023-01-27T21:11:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-01-27T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-01-26T21:28:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-01-26T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-01-23T20:17:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-20T21:35:47+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-20T21:30:56+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-01-20T19:51:16+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2023-01-20T13:54:12+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Unsigned
- **2023-01-19T16:05:25+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2023-01-12T18:58:48+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-11T21:47:03+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-11T21:38:21+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2023-01-11T21:10:41+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2023-01-11T21:10:40+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Probable
- **2023-01-11T21:00:00+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-01-11T20:47:52+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-01-10T17:15:48+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-09T22:38:50+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-01-09T22:38:43+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-09T22:13:13+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-01-09T17:49:50+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-01-09T16:32:42+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-09T16:32:41+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-01-07T15:01:52+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-01-06T23:20:37+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-01-06T18:40:23+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-01-06T16:35:40+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2022-12-28T21:44:29+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-12-28T21:38:04+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-11-07T20:16:10+00:00** (C) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2022-10-26T18:37:22+00:00** (C) Draft On Hold
- **2022-10-03T17:56:43+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/14d0d891-df6e-41dd-b8fa-2cf3ab5f3cd6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).