---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise the definition of child abuse or neglect"
description: "Revise the definition of child abuse or neglect"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 18"
citation: "Montana SB 18 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Family Law", "Minors"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dennis Lenz"]
version_count: 23
action_count: 37
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2024-11-01T20:42:25+00:00"
last_action: "2025-04-04T00:38:51+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/072686d2-54df-447d-aad2-3e5fc2df7564"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC0726?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "75b39bfe2be39b881a955ba691abdd34743543e22b1251b057239645ff623905"
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 SB 18 (2025) — Revise the definition of child abuse or neglect

## Version chain

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

1. **LC0726.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=266208)
2. **SB0018_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=267373)
3. **SB0018_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=275063)
4. **SB0018_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=276137)
5. **SB0018_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=277496)
6. **SB0018_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=281430)
7. **SB0018_1(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295284)
8. **SB0018_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=267267)
9. **SB0018_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295283)
10. **SB0018_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295287)
11. **SB0018_X(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316667)
12. **SB0018_X(11).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320252)
13. **SB0018_X(12).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324119)
14. **SB0018_X(13).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=325966)
15. **SB0018_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295395)
16. **SB0018_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295682)
17. **SB0018_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295685)
18. **SB0018_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295686)
19. **SB0018_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=305175)
20. **SB0018_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=305176)
21. **SB0018_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=305177)
22. **SB0018_X(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310729)
23. **SB0018_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295285)

## Votes

- Do Pass — **48–1** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **91–7** (pass) · lower
- be_concurred_in — **21–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **47–3** (pass) · upper
- do_pass — **10–1** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **96–4** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Dennis Lenz — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-11-01T20:42:25+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2024-11-20T20:04:06+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2024-11-20T22:53:57+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2024-11-21T23:23:27+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2024-11-26T18:22:55+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2024-11-27T15:14:43+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2024-12-03T23:20:28+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2024-12-07T00:34:16+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2024-12-07T00:34:18+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2025-01-06T19:17:33+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
- **2025-01-06T21:46:00+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-01-07T21:06:00+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-10T19:01:01+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
- **2025-01-25T00:37:59+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-27T20:49:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-29T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-01-29T22:40:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-01-30T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-01-30T22:07:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-01-30T22:56:53+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2025-01-31T18:57:57+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-31T20:13:01+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-02-01T00:37:43+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) Human Services
- **2025-02-11T22:35:41+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (H) Human Services
- **2025-02-12T20:18:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (H) Human Services
- **2025-02-12T21:27:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (H) Human Services
- **2025-03-17T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-17T20:10:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-18T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-18T20:36:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-18T20:36:53+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-03-20T12:49:45+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-03-24T16:30:53+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-03-26T21:30:07+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-03-27T14:05:58+00:00** (S) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-03T18:00:42+00:00** (S) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-04T00:38:51+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/072686d2-54df-447d-aad2-3e5fc2df7564`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).