---
type: "Bill"
title: "Establish volunteer program in child protective services"
description: "Establish volunteer program in child protective services"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 163"
citation: "Montana SB 163 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Minors (see also: Family Law)", "Rule Making", "Social Services"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dennis Lenz"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 61
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2022-10-03T17:57:12+00:00"
last_action: "2023-05-02T15:41:21+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fe237326-ae4d-4269-a032-665b8ce7cfb0"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC0529"
source_hash: "788c7be7e9deaded1df412894ff78c090cee3b0e92f1cd4a9fd5dfc0b15a476b"
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 163 (2023) — Establish volunteer program in child protective services

## Version chain

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

1. **SB0163.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4728)
2. **SB0163001SCS15249.slc.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4714)
3. **SB0163_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4693)
4. **SB0163_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4692)
5. **SB0163_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=4694)

## Votes

- (S) 3rd Reading Passed — **47–3** (pass) · upper
- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended — **8–1** (pass) · upper
- (H) 2nd Reading Concurred — **71–29** (pass) · lower
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **14–7** (pass) · lower
- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed — **18–1** (pass) · upper
- (S) 2nd Reading Passed — **42–6** (pass) · upper
- (H) 3rd Reading Concurred — **66–29** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Dennis Lenz — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-05-02T15:41:21+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-05-01T19:20:00+00:00** (S) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-24T16:50:00+00:00** (S) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-22T14:30:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-19T16:00:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-17T17:39:38+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-17T17:39:37+00:00** (S) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-07T21:08:10+00:00** (S) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-07T19:51:53+00:00** (H) Returned to Senate
- **2023-04-07T14:34:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-07T14:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-06T20:12:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-06T19:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-17T19:22:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-16T21:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-14T21:00:00+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-03-10T20:19:28+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-10T19:05:18+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-10T22:12:16+00:00** (S) Transmitted to House
- **2023-02-09T21:37:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-09T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-02-08T20:06:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-07T22:00:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-07T21:21:00+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-02-06T14:18:27+00:00** (S) Revised Fiscal Note Printed
- **2023-02-03T20:27:37+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Unsigned
- **2023-02-01T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Revised Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2023-01-30T23:19:45+00:00** (S) Revised Fiscal Note Requested
- **2023-01-30T21:35:00+00:00** (S) Rereferred to Committee `referral-committee, referral-committee`
- **2023-01-30T21:03:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-01-30T20:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-01-26T22:14:57+00:00** (C) Printed - New Version Available
- **2023-01-26T20:12:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-25T23:13:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-23T22:00:47+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-01-23T18:22:13+00:00** (C) Amendments Available
- **2023-01-23T16:50:05+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Printed
- **2023-01-20T13:57:25+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Unsigned
- **2023-01-19T16:08:16+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Received `receipt`
- **2023-01-18T18:04:35+00:00** (S) Hearing Canceled
- **2023-01-12T18:58:59+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-11T21:45:53+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-11T21:38:45+00:00** (S) Fiscal Note Requested
- **2023-01-11T21:21:50+00:00** (S) Introduced
- **2023-01-11T21:21:49+00:00** (C) Fiscal Note Probable
- **2023-01-11T20:48:19+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-01-10T17:16:38+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-09T22:37:10+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-01-09T22:36:56+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-01-09T22:16:15+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-01-09T17:47:11+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-01-09T16:33:45+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-01-09T16:33:44+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-01-07T14:52:19+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-01-07T00:19:37+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-01-06T19:40:21+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-01-06T16:41:53+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2022-12-28T21:03:44+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-11-07T20:16:26+00:00** (C) Draft Taken Off Hold
- **2022-10-26T18:37:37+00:00** (C) Draft On Hold
- **2022-10-03T17:57:12+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/fe237326-ae4d-4269-a032-665b8ce7cfb0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).