# Montana HB 342: Revise civil liability laws to provide a statutory duty of care for certain actions

Montana HB 342, Revise civil liability laws to provide a statutory duty of care for certain actions, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Bill Mercer (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-05 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB342-2025
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Montana HB 342
- State: Montana
- Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)
- Title: Revise civil liability laws to provide a statutory duty of care for certain actions
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-29
- Last action: 2025-05-05, Chapter Number Assigned
- Sponsor: Bill Mercer (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: Liability, Revenue, State
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (177 yes, 121 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Narrower malpractice claims for known risks: cost, medium. In medical malpractice cases, a known or foreseeable risk does not raise the duty of care above the usual reasonable standard. This narrows one way patients can try to prove negligence. The law is effective on passage and approval. It applies only to lawsuits filed on or after that date; cases file…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Bill Mercer (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Bruce "Butch" Gillespie (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-09 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 32 | 17 |   |
| 2025-04-08 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 30 | 20 |   |
| 2025-02-13 | House | Do Pass | pass | 57 | 42 |   |
| 2025-02-12 | House | Do Pass | pass | 58 | 42 |   |

## Actions (26)

- 2025-05-05: Chapter Number Assigned (House)
- 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-04-22: Transmitted to Governor (House)
- 2025-04-22: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-04-18: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-04-11: Returned from Enrolling (House)
- 2025-04-09: Sent to Enrolling (House)
- 2025-04-09: 3rd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: 2nd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-03-26: Committee Report (Senate)
- 2025-03-26: Committee Executive Action (Senate)
- 2025-03-15: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-03-07: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-03-02: Hearing Canceled (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-02-14: Referred to Committee (Senate)
- 2025-02-14: Transmitted to Senate (House)
- 2025-02-13: 3rd Reading (House)
- 2025-02-12: 2nd Reading (House)
- 2025-02-06: Committee Report (House)
- 2025-02-06: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-02-06: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-02-04: Hearing (House)
- 2025-01-30: 1st Reading (House)
- 2025-01-30: Referred to Committee (House)
- 2025-01-29: Introduced (House)

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=8b52b727-c589-42a6-b26e-b9d5b5e4bb1d)
- Introduced, 2025-01-29: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=c44c541b-3d3d-4769-a4ec-bc3d0df11c73)

## Related bills

- SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed)
- HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed)
- HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed)
- SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed)
- SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed)
- SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed)

## Sources
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=8b52b727-c589-42a6-b26e-b9d5b5e4bb1d)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=c44c541b-3d3d-4769-a4ec-bc3d0df11c73)

## Related
- [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025)
- [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025)
- [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025)
- [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025)
- [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025)
- [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025)
- [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills)
- [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB342-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).