---
type: "Bill"
title: "Remove FWP requirement to regulate wolves as furbearers or game animals"
description: "Remove FWP requirement to regulate wolves as furbearers or game animals"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 554"
citation: "Montana HB 554 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Fish"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Brandon Ler"]
version_count: 19
action_count: 38
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2024-11-12T15:07:48+00:00"
last_action: "2025-05-08T19:12:38+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4d70d496-6d77-4361-99cf-b15a13d2abba"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC1321?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "38e981cf2d395105757293859611384e7ed7bcea01eafe1dcd3c5a8210940902"
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 554 (2025) — Remove FWP requirement to regulate wolves as furbearers or game animals

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0554_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=284418)
2. **HB0554_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=293331)
3. **HB0554_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=306776)
4. **HB0554_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311710)
5. **HB0554_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311713)
6. **HB0554_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=283859)
7. **HB0554_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311716)
8. **HB0554_X(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324825)
9. **HB0554_X(11).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=326148)
10. **HB0554_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311717)
11. **HB0554_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=312338)
12. **HB0554_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=312339)
13. **HB0554_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=317081)
14. **HB0554_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320647)
15. **HB0554_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=322158)
16. **HB0554_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=322159)
17. **HB0554_X(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=322160)
18. **HB0554_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311715)
19. **LC1321.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=277258)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **34–15** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **57–42** (pass) · lower
- do_pass — **12–8** (pass) · lower
- be_concurred_in — **7–4** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **53–44** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **29–21** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Brandon Ler — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-11-12T15:07:48+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2024-11-12T15:07:48+00:00** (LC) Draft On Hold
- **2024-12-02T14:25:08+00:00** (LC) Draft On Hold
- **2025-01-24T19:14:44+00:00** (LC) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2025-01-27T18:25:00+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2025-01-29T20:27:35+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2025-01-29T22:39:28+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2025-01-30T20:58:52+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2025-01-31T20:30:40+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2025-02-04T13:18:24+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2025-02-18T18:53:34+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2025-02-18T22:20:23+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2025-02-19T19:31:58+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-19T19:52:09+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-02-27T01:15:35+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks
- **2025-02-28T01:36:15+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-28T20:47:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) Fish, Wildlife and Parks `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-04T22:30:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-05T01:51:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-06T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-06T15:30:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-06T19:13:40+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2025-03-14T23:06:17+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-03-14T23:26:00+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) Fish and Game `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-18T19:14:13+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Fish and Game
- **2025-04-08T21:24:02+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Fish and Game
- **2025-04-09T00:09:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Fish and Game
- **2025-04-14T16:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-04-14T16:56:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-15T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-15T21:10:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-15T21:11:38+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-04-17T14:00:26+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-04-24T23:00:29+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-25T18:15:35+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-04-25T21:33:14+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-05T18:37:31+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-08T19:12:38+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/4d70d496-6d77-4361-99cf-b15a13d2abba`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).