# Montana HB 46: Revise change of attorney laws for public defenders

Montana HB 46, Revise change of attorney laws for public defenders, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by James Reavis (Democrat); status signed, last action 2025-04-07 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB46-2025
- 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 46
- State: Montana
- Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)
- Title: Revise change of attorney laws for public defenders
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2024-12-10
- Last action: 2025-04-07, Chapter Number Assigned
- Sponsor: James Reavis (Democrat)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Criminal Procedure, Local Government, State Government
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (264 yes, 33 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Simpler public defender reassignments: benefit, low. The law lets the Office of the State Public Defender reassign a public defender without filing a consent or getting a court order with notice. This only applies when the Office is appointed under Montana’s Public Defender Act. In all other cases, you can change lawyers at any time, but you must eit…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: James Reavis (Democrat), House
- Cosponsor: Cora Neumann (Democrat), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-03-21 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 49 | 1 |   |
| 2025-03-20 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 48 | 1 |   |
| 2025-01-21 | House | Do Pass | pass | 77 | 22 |   |
| 2025-01-20 | House | Do Pass | pass | 90 | 9 |   |

## Actions (24)

- 2025-04-07: Chapter Number Assigned (House)
- 2025-04-07: Signed by Governor (House)
- 2025-04-01: Transmitted to Governor (House)
- 2025-04-01: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-03-28: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-03-25: Returned from Enrolling (House)
- 2025-03-21: Sent to Enrolling (House)
- 2025-03-21: 3rd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-03-20: 2nd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-03-19: Committee Report (Senate)
- 2025-02-19: Committee Executive Action (Senate)
- 2025-02-13: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-02-11: Referred to Committee (Senate)
- 2025-01-22: 1st Reading (Senate)
- 2025-01-21: Transmitted to Senate (House)
- 2025-01-21: 3rd Reading (House)
- 2025-01-20: 2nd Reading (House)
- 2025-01-16: Committee Report (House)
- 2025-01-16: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-01-16: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-01-06: Hearing (House)
- 2025-01-06: 1st Reading (House)
- 2024-12-20: Referred to Committee (House)
- 2024-12-10: Introduced (House)

## Bill text

- As Amended (Version 2), 2025-03-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=e3f8a913-049c-478d-83cc-a5a71f09bed4)
- Enrolled, 2025-03-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=630c25d7-213e-48db-ba7b-c8db47cdfb36)
- Introduced, 2024-12-09: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=8c829307-ce66-4ebe-8cf2-b79aedd3510b)

## 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
- [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=e3f8a913-049c-478d-83cc-a5a71f09bed4)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=630c25d7-213e-48db-ba7b-c8db47cdfb36)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=8c829307-ce66-4ebe-8cf2-b79aedd3510b)

## 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-HB46-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).