---
type: "Bill"
title: "Expand state ethics laws to include the judicial branch and judges"
description: "Expand state ethics laws to include the judicial branch and judges"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 252"
citation: "Montana SB 252 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts (see also: Judges and Justices; Juries and Jurors)", "Judges and Justices (see also: Courts)", "Public Officers and Employees"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Greg Hertz"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 43
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-11-30T18:12:11+00:00"
last_action: "2023-05-04T18:44:10+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b61ab472-7e09-48a9-aa78-9c5b0c4c9499"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC1839"
source_hash: "3b4344c01f9a7fb0cd433637bea9f58ad38834a8af6e99a15eb7ff234af1a06a"
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 252 (2023) — Expand state ethics laws to include the judicial branch and judges

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0252_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=64427)
2. **SB0252_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=64428)

## Votes

- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **11–0** (pass) · upper
- (S) 3rd Reading Passed — **34–14** (pass) · upper
- (H) 2nd Reading Concurred — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- (H) 3rd Reading Concurred — **94–5** (pass) · lower
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **19–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) 2nd Reading Passed — **34–16** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Greg Hertz — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-05-04T18:44:10+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-05-04T16:13:00+00:00** (S) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-01T16:50:00+00:00** (S) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-29T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-27T15:00:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-23T19:46:04+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-23T19:46:03+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-19T15:56:32+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-18T22:12:40+00:00** (H) Returned to Senate
- **2023-04-18T20:31:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-18T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-17T20:58:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-17T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-04-13T22:03:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-04-13T14:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-04-06T13:00:00+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-03-14T19:33:56+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-14T01:06:03+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-17T22:43:10+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2023-02-16T20:51:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-16T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-02-15T20:31:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-02-15T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-02-13T22:14:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-09T16:00:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-08T16:00:45+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-02-02T21:42:13+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-01T20:19:59+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-01T18:38:09+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-01T18:08:30+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2023-02-01T17:37:14+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-02-01T00:47:17+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-31T17:11:18+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-01-31T17:11:14+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-30T21:58:01+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-01-30T20:27:23+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-01-30T17:02:48+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-30T17:02:47+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-01-30T02:26:50+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-01-29T22:02:20+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-01-26T16:23:59+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-01-24T21:19:52+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2022-11-30T18:12:11+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/b61ab472-7e09-48a9-aa78-9c5b0c4c9499`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).