---
type: "Bill"
title: "Providing for disposition of abandoned graveyard lots"
description: "Providing for disposition of abandoned graveyard lots"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 523"
citation: "Montana HB 523 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Cities and Towns", "Landlord and Tenant", "Property"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Mercer"]
version_count: 38
action_count: 39
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2024-12-14T17:20:53+00:00"
last_action: "2025-05-05T16:45:14+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9bf8580f-bb43-4b1b-b4ae-50e051a30200"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC3432?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "516644fea92af6d5facde941032103cfa8ad50db6e7df404483b85dbe880892a"
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 523 (2025) — Providing for disposition of abandoned graveyard lots

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0523.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=289067)
2. **HB0523_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=283732)
3. **HB0523_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290046)
4. **HB0523_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290047)
5. **HB0523_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290048)
6. **HB0523_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290049)
7. **HB0523_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=283307)
8. **HB0523_2(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290051)
9. **HB0523_2(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310040)
10. **HB0523_2(11).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310041)
11. **HB0523_2(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290058)
12. **HB0523_2(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290059)
13. **HB0523_2(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290109)
14. **HB0523_2(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290110)
15. **HB0523_2(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290120)
16. **HB0523_2(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=293828)
17. **HB0523_2(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=293971)
18. **HB0523_2(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=301896)
19. **HB0523_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290050)
20. **HB0523_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310047)
21. **HB0523_X(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316966)
22. **HB0523_X(11).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320539)
23. **HB0523_X(12).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321574)
24. **HB0523_X(13).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321575)
25. **HB0523_X(14).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321576)
26. **HB0523_X(15).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324687)
27. **HB0523_X(16).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=326868)
28. **HB0523_X(17).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=327805)
29. **HB0523_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310048)
30. **HB0523_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310242)
31. **HB0523_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310243)
32. **HB0523_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310245)
33. **HB0523_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310246)
34. **HB0523_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310306)
35. **HB0523_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310307)
36. **HB0523_X(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311075)
37. **HB0523_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310043)
38. **LC3432.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=281906)

## Votes

- be_concurred_in — **11–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **46–4** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **45–3** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **63–36** (pass) · lower
- do_pass_as_amended — **11–6** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **67–32** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bill Mercer — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-12-14T17:20:53+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2025-02-11T15:51:49+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2025-02-11T20:35:23+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2025-02-13T16:37:07+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2025-02-13T18:05:18+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2025-02-13T20:14:23+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2025-02-15T20:29:57+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2025-02-17T19:21:11+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2025-02-17T21:06:50+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2025-02-17T21:08:07+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2025-02-18T18:16:30+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) Local Government `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-18T19:39:53+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-02-24T20:19:14+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) Local Government
- **2025-02-24T20:52:30+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2025-02-24T21:33:35+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Signed
- **2025-02-25T01:46:07+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2025-02-28T03:28:08+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended - (H) Local Government `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-28T21:12:20+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended - (H) Local Government `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-05T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-05T17:12:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-07T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-07T16:29:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-07T18:00:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2025-03-14T23:06:17+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-03-14T23:23:00+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) Local Government `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-20T15:51:13+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Local Government
- **2025-03-31T23:28:06+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Local Government
- **2025-04-01T19:18:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Local Government
- **2025-04-12T15:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-04-12T19:30:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-14T16:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-14T18:01:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-14T18:02:22+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-04-15T12:31:34+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-04-23T22:30:32+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-24T17:45:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-04-24T21:45:28+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-01T21:14:29+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-05T16:45:14+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/9bf8580f-bb43-4b1b-b4ae-50e051a30200`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).