---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise laws related to public defenders for clarity"
description: "Revise laws related to public defenders for clarity"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 102"
citation: "Montana HB 102 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts", "Criminal Procedure", "State Government"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jade Sooktis"]
version_count: 22
action_count: 50
vote_count: 9
first_action: "2024-09-13T14:32:12+00:00"
last_action: "2025-05-05T19:05:26+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/201ff894-2c05-4ea7-94dd-7cf2ca835792"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC0254?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "c206c0474d32757752efd32a1487eeec9651d746feb9f56e0a80f2114c8dfcd5"
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 102 (2025) — Revise laws related to public defenders for clarity

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0102.001.002_Amendments-in-Context_final-condensed.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295159)
2. **HB0102.001.002_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295160)
3. **HB0102_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=269253)
4. **HB0102_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=274600)
5. **HB0102_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=275581)
6. **HB0102_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=276618)
7. **HB0102_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=280746)
8. **HB0102_1(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=294710)
9. **HB0102_1(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=301203)
10. **HB0102_1(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=306926)
11. **HB0102_1(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=306928)
12. **HB0102_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=269252)
13. **HB0102_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316766)
14. **HB0102_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320345)
15. **HB0102_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321417)
16. **HB0102_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321418)
17. **HB0102_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321419)
18. **HB0102_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324601)
19. **HB0102_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325700)
20. **HB0102_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=327288)
21. **HB0102_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310825)
22. **LC0254.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=266289)

## Votes

- AMD-HB0102.001.002 Lenz D/PASS — **23–26** (fail) · upper
- do_pass — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **39–9** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **56–44** (pass) · lower
- Rerefer to Finance and Claims-Hertz — **27–23** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **32–18** (pass) · upper
- be_concurred_in — **19–3** (pass) · upper
- be_concurred_in — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **60–38** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jade Sooktis — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-09-13T14:32:12+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2024-10-16T17:48:02+00:00** (LC) Draft On Hold
- **2024-11-18T18:06:40+00:00** (LC) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2024-11-22T16:02:46+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2024-11-22T16:57:37+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2024-11-26T18:23:01+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2024-11-26T21:41:41+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2024-11-27T15:18:18+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2024-12-03T23:21:01+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2024-12-16T22:00:43+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2024-12-16T22:00:51+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2024-12-20T22:14:11+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-06T18:28:00+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-01-14T16:13:52+00:00** (H) Hearing Canceled - (H) Judiciary
- **2025-01-14T17:43:17+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) Judiciary
- **2025-01-20T18:45:08+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-20T19:31:02+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-20T21:42:52+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-22T20:26:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Pass Consideration `reading-2`
- **2025-01-23T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-01-23T21:16:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-01-24T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-01-24T22:08:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-01-27T16:27:04+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2025-01-27T19:40:00+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-01-27T19:48:01+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-03T20:55:42+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Judiciary
- **2025-02-11T16:47:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Judiciary
- **2025-02-12T20:11:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Judiciary
- **2025-03-15T15:19:04+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Pass Consideration `reading-2`
- **2025-03-20T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-20T19:30:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Motion to Amend Failed `amendment-failure, failure, reading-2`
- **2025-03-20T19:34:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-20T21:23:00+00:00** (S) Rereferred to Committee - (S) Finance and Claims `referral-committee, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-28T19:28:00+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2025-04-03T00:47:25+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2025-04-03T01:16:45+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Finance and Claims
- **2025-04-03T22:12:38+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Signed
- **2025-04-04T22:37:36+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2025-04-07T17:11:47+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Finance and Claims
- **2025-04-07T19:14:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Finance and Claims
- **2025-04-08T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-08T20:51:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-08T20:51:23+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-04-10T15:28:06+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-04-18T19:00:46+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-22T00:00:24+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-04-22T18:10:24+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-01T21:00:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-05T19:05:26+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/201ff894-2c05-4ea7-94dd-7cf2ca835792`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).