---
type: "Bill"
title: "Feasibility allowance for nondegradation policy"
description: "Feasibility allowance for nondegradation policy"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 685"
citation: "Montana HB 685 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Environmental Protection", "Rule Making", "Water"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Steve Fitzpatrick"]
version_count: 26
action_count: 37
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2024-12-08T17:21:08+00:00"
last_action: "2025-05-19T15:45:39+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2e8cc380-1594-483f-b61e-5c5032e954a4"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC2392?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "53a47eb7d0dc8f06fad653562ec92397d5ad99656e7c283f2bc051f1474a630a"
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 685 (2025) — Feasibility allowance for nondegradation policy

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0685_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=286667)
2. **HB0685_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=293891)
3. **HB0685_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=294101)
4. **HB0685_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=308996)
5. **HB0685_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=314153)
6. **HB0685_1(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=314158)
7. **HB0685_1(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316214)
8. **HB0685_1(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316215)
9. **HB0685_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=286427)
10. **HB0685_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316229)
11. **HB0685_X(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324511)
12. **HB0685_X(11).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325183)
13. **HB0685_X(12).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325184)
14. **HB0685_X(13).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325185)
15. **HB0685_X(14).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=326588)
16. **HB0685_X(15).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=327703)
17. **HB0685_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316231)
18. **HB0685_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316240)
19. **HB0685_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316241)
20. **HB0685_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316368)
21. **HB0685_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316369)
22. **HB0685_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=317358)
23. **HB0685_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320115)
24. **HB0685_X(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321108)
25. **HB0685_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=314162)
26. **LC2392.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=286167)

## Votes

- Do Concur — **33–17** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **33–17** (pass) · upper
- do_pass — **8–6** (pass) · lower
- be_concurred_in — **6–5** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **56–43** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **56–43** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Steve Fitzpatrick — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-12-08T17:21:08+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2024-12-08T17:21:08+00:00** (LC) Draft On Hold
- **2025-02-15T16:24:13+00:00** (LC) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2025-02-19T18:18:29+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2025-02-20T16:18:21+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2025-02-22T22:17:08+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2025-02-23T16:39:38+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2025-02-23T17:24:06+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2025-02-23T19:38:56+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2025-02-24T16:58:38+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2025-02-24T19:13:54+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-24T20:09:59+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-02-25T01:12:53+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) Natural Resources
- **2025-03-03T22:57:52+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) Natural Resources `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-04T01:36:48+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) Natural Resources `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-05T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-05T21:13:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-07T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-07T16:41:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-07T18:00:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2025-03-15T00:05:09+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-03-17T15:08:54+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-27T15:02:31+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Natural Resources
- **2025-04-11T23:56:12+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) Natural Resources
- **2025-04-12T15:27:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) Natural Resources
- **2025-04-17T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-04-17T21:46:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-18T15:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-18T22:01:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-18T22:01:59+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-04-24T14:14:37+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2025-04-24T14:14:52+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-05-02T17:30:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-05-06T20:00:43+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-05-07T15:03:52+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-13T19:20:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-19T15:45:39+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/2e8cc380-1594-483f-b61e-5c5032e954a4`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).