---
type: "Bill"
title: "Create a government evidence and impact commission"
description: "Create a government evidence and impact commission"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 834"
citation: "Montana HB 834 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["State Government"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Mercer"]
version_count: 28
action_count: 41
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2025-01-02T23:25:45+00:00"
last_action: "2025-05-19T21:20:24+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e1513624-c1df-4724-bb7e-494fe2f1867b"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC4230?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "6ab7cb3efc30ccfb8168a6b9f56d3944ca12e652af1aa51974815c7a82b8fbd5"
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 834 (2025) — Create a government evidence and impact commission

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0834.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=309828)
2. **HB0834.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-not condensed.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=309831)
3. **HB0834_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=294969)
4. **HB0834_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=302305)
5. **HB0834_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310148)
6. **HB0834_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311263)
7. **HB0834_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311264)
8. **HB0834_1(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311265)
9. **HB0834_1(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311266)
10. **HB0834_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=294447)
11. **HB0834_2(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=313990)
12. **HB0834_2(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318252)
13. **HB0834_2(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318256)
14. **HB0834_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=311376)
15. **HB0834_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318260)
16. **HB0834_X(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325263)
17. **HB0834_X(11).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325264)
18. **HB0834_X(12).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=327120)
19. **HB0834_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318261)
20. **HB0834_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318698)
21. **HB0834_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318699)
22. **HB0834_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318709)
23. **HB0834_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318710)
24. **HB0834_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320991)
25. **HB0834_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324431)
26. **HB0834_X(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325262)
27. **HB0834_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=318257)
28. **LC4230.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=293583)

## Votes

- be_concurred_in_as_amended — **7–2** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **92–8** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **65–35** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **42–8** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **40–10** (pass) · upper
- do_pass — **11–8** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **65–34** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **59–40** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bill Mercer — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-01-02T23:25:45+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2025-03-04T20:46:55+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2025-03-05T12:36:12+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2025-03-07T16:38:24+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2025-03-13T19:43:42+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2025-03-15T16:08:33+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2025-03-15T18:31:28+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2025-03-17T17:45:51+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2025-03-17T17:57:46+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2025-03-17T17:58:51+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2025-03-18T14:45:09+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) State Administration `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-18T19:09:41+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-03-20T16:51:17+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) State Administration
- **2025-03-24T19:27:48+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2025-03-24T20:04:46+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Signed
- **2025-03-25T14:36:42+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2025-03-28T16:08:20+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) State Administration `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-28T19:59:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) State Administration `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-31T19:57:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-01T20:02:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-01T21:25:20+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2025-04-02T19:28:44+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-04-02T19:30:00+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration `referral-committee`
- **2025-04-13T00:56:58+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) State Administration
- **2025-04-14T22:35:27+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred as Amended - (S) State Administration
- **2025-04-15T19:19:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred as Amended - (S) State Administration
- **2025-04-17T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-04-17T22:29:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-18T15:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-18T22:04:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-22T14:33:51+00:00** (S) Returned to House with Amendments
- **2025-04-24T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-04-24T21:19:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Senate Amendments Concurred `amendment-amendment, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-25T15:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-25T16:01:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed as Amended by Senate `passage, passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2025-04-28T17:47:41+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-04-29T16:30:43+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-05-02T19:00:46+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-05-06T20:00:07+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-05-07T15:03:52+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-19T21:20:24+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/e1513624-c1df-4724-bb7e-494fe2f1867b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).