---
type: "Bill"
title: "Prohibit health insurers from performing prior authorization on psychiatric drugs in shortage or discontinued"
description: "Prohibit health insurers from performing prior authorization on psychiatric drugs in shortage or discontinued"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 317"
citation: "Montana SB 317 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Health", "Health Care Services", "Insurance", "Mental Illness or Incapacity"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dennis Lenz"]
version_count: 29
action_count: 41
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2024-12-14T20:54:29+00:00"
last_action: "2025-05-13T13:30:43+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/75361340-dff9-439a-960d-c36083eabcf3"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC3691?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "9acb46f2692cf41e04881524da01f4a46ca285df09d2e8d86ea9db5c1ad89a44"
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 317 (2025) — Prohibit health insurers from performing prior authorization on psychiatric drugs in shortage or discontinued

## Version chain

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

1. **LC3691.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=277546)
2. **SB0317.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290209)
3. **SB0317.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290202)
4. **SB0317_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=282612)
5. **SB0317_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290500)
6. **SB0317_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290501)
7. **SB0317_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290502)
8. **SB0317_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290503)
9. **SB0317_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=282118)
10. **SB0317_2(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290505)
11. **SB0317_2(10).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=309124)
12. **SB0317_2(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290506)
13. **SB0317_2(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290584)
14. **SB0317_2(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290591)
15. **SB0317_2(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290594)
16. **SB0317_2(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290726)
17. **SB0317_2(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=292959)
18. **SB0317_2(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=306258)
19. **SB0317_2(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=309115)
20. **SB0317_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=290504)
21. **SB0317_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316902)
22. **SB0317_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320477)
23. **SB0317_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=322662)
24. **SB0317_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=322663)
25. **SB0317_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=322664)
26. **SB0317_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324947)
27. **SB0317_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=326925)
28. **SB0317_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=327062)
29. **SB0317_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310965)

## Votes

- do_pass_as_amended — **11–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **49–1** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **100–0** (pass) · lower
- be_concurred_in — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **49–1** (pass) · upper
- Do Concur — **98–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Dennis Lenz — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-12-14T20:54:29+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2024-12-14T20:54:29+00:00** (LC) Draft On Hold
- **2025-01-16T22:55:11+00:00** (LC) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2025-01-20T18:21:24+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2025-01-20T22:35:28+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2025-01-21T17:43:13+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2025-01-30T23:38:40+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2025-01-31T22:19:00+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2025-02-04T13:07:34+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2025-02-13T21:14:27+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2025-02-13T21:21:28+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2025-02-14T20:23:06+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-02-14T20:28:00+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-20T22:06:47+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2025-02-22T00:29:45+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
- **2025-02-27T15:22:28+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2025-02-27T18:20:18+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Signed
- **2025-02-27T20:32:58+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2025-03-01T03:48:49+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-01T18:40:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-04T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-04T20:36:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-05T15:30:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-05T15:50:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-05T22:12:55+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2025-03-05T22:14:43+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) Business and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-06T15:07:42+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-03-21T20:28:25+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) Business and Labor
- **2025-04-08T17:02:44+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (H) Business and Labor
- **2025-04-08T21:15:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (H) Business and Labor
- **2025-04-10T14:30:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-04-10T16:38:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-04-11T21:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-04-11T23:29:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-11T23:30:15+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-04-13T04:48:50+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-04-21T22:00:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-04-29T22:15:14+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-30T16:55:55+00:00** (S) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-09T02:42:00+00:00** (S) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-13T13:30:43+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/75361340-dff9-439a-960d-c36083eabcf3`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).