---
type: "Bill"
title: "Require agency reports to legislature to be in writing"
description: "Require agency reports to legislature to be in writing"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 400"
citation: "Montana HB 400 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Documents", "Legislature"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bill Mercer"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 49
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-11-14T22:38:35+00:00"
last_action: "2023-05-16T20:28:17+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/deec0235-267e-4d91-b8fd-798948c00c9c"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC1182"
source_hash: "38fef84d5d20cd04d50db6623b8bb0eb910ee0cb4592412a57c6f643068edc89"
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 400 (2023) — Require agency reports to legislature to be in writing

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0400.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12225)
2. **HB0400GovNotSign.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12222)
3. **HB0400_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12223)
4. **HB0400_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=12224)

## Votes

- (H) 3rd Reading Passed — **96–1** (pass) · lower
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **18–0** (pass) · lower
- (H) 2nd Reading Passed — **100–0** (pass) · lower
- (S) 3rd Reading Concurred — **48–1** (pass) · upper
- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **10–0** (pass) · upper
- (S) 2nd Reading Concurred — **48–2** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Bill Mercer — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-05-16T20:28:17+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-04-21T16:40:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-20T17:01:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-20T17:00:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-14T14:56:33+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-14T14:56:32+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-11T20:08:39+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-07T16:16:33+00:00** (S) Returned to House
- **2023-04-06T20:41:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-06T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-05T20:24:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-05T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-27T19:19:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-24T21:00:01+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-24T21:00:00+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-03-13T18:14:13+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-22T20:34:54+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-22T11:20:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2023-02-21T21:45:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-21T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-02-17T20:49:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-02-17T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-02-15T20:17:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-15T16:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-10T16:00:44+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-02-10T01:46:23+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2023-02-09T00:46:27+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Signed
- **2023-02-08T22:19:19+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2023-02-06T20:17:32+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-06T18:20:06+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-03T16:59:31+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-03T14:54:06+00:00** (H) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2023-02-03T01:37:59+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2023-02-03T01:37:58+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Probable
- **2023-02-02T23:52:49+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-01-27T23:02:14+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-27T22:23:00+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-01-27T22:22:56+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-27T18:52:49+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-01-27T18:27:27+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-01-27T16:04:22+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-27T16:04:21+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-01-26T23:41:27+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-01-26T18:06:03+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-01-24T00:10:06+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-01-23T22:24:06+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2023-01-23T20:37:43+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2023-01-23T20:36:36+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-11-14T22:38:35+00:00** (C) Draft Request Received `receipt`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/deec0235-267e-4d91-b8fd-798948c00c9c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).