---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise and extend post-election audit process"
description: "Revise and extend post-election audit process"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 197"
citation: "Montana SB 197 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections (see also: Ballot Issues)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Mike Cuffe"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 48
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-11-20T18:12:28+00:00"
last_action: "2023-05-04T15:40:49+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cadcf532-6327-4395-a52e-4de59c077f68"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC1437"
source_hash: "4303715b0883872339bd8b70686c7c87aba5651973d9fa3fcd8d4524eef920c5"
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 197 (2023) — Revise and extend post-election audit process

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0197.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4969)
2. **SB0197001SCS12554.slc.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4913)
3. **SB0197_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4887)
4. **SB0197_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4888)

## Votes

- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **10–0** (pass) · upper
- (S) 2nd Reading Passed — **46–4** (pass) · upper
- (H) 2nd Reading Concurred — **68–32** (pass) · lower
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **11–7** (pass) · lower
- (S) 3rd Reading Passed — **47–1** (pass) · upper
- (H) 3rd Reading Concurred — **63–32** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Mike Cuffe — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-05-04T15:40:49+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-05-02T15:52:00+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`
- **2023-04-19T17:30:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-19T00:51:31+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-17T21:58:38+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-07T21:12:46+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-07T19:52:01+00:00** (H) Returned to Senate
- **2023-04-07T14:40:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-07T14:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-06T21:06:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-06T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-31T20:12:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-31T16:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-21T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-03-14T19:33:44+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-14T01:00:20+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-17T22:43:02+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2023-02-16T20:47:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-16T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-02-15T20:35:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-02-15T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-02-13T20:14:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-10T22:00:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-08T22:00:48+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-01-23T17:42:48+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-23T17:29:28+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-20T20:16:00+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-01-19T19:33:16+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2023-01-19T17:54:56+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-01-18T20:15:23+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-18T15:13:05+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-01-18T15:13:00+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-18T12:35:52+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-01-17T21:53:03+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-01-17T17:11:48+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-17T17:11:47+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-01-17T15:23:54+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-01-17T02:47:25+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-01-13T23:10:57+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-01-10T22:33:56+00:00** (C) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2023-01-10T22:33:55+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2023-01-07T20:29:00+00:00** (C) Draft On Hold
- **2022-12-21T02:02:36+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-12-19T22:51:35+00:00** (C) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2022-12-16T17:20:01+00:00** (C) Draft On Hold
- **2022-11-20T18:12:28+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/cadcf532-6327-4395-a52e-4de59c077f68`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).