# Montana HB 582: Generally revise criminal law Montana HB 582, Generally revise criminal law, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Bill Mercer (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-13 (Chapter Number Assigned); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB582-2025 - 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 582 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Generally revise criminal law - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-19 - Last action: 2025-05-13, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Bill Mercer (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Courts, Criminal Procedure - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 6 (296 yes, 196 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Keep your license and lower fines: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2025, your driver's license cannot be suspended just for not paying fines, costs, or restitution. If you did not post bail and you get a fine, you can get credit for each day you were jailed before sentencing. The credit equals your days in custody times the county's daily rate, u… - New limits on probation and DOC time: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2025, the law sets clear caps on deferred and suspended sentences. Judges can defer up to 1 year for misdemeanors and 3 years for felonies, or up to 2 and 6 years if a financial obligation is required. Community supervision is capped at 20 years for sexual offenders and some homic… - State pays treatment for sexual offenders: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, when a judge orders chemical treatment for a sexual offender, the Department of Corrections pays for it. The department decides how long treatment lasts, but it cannot go past the person’s state supervision period. - Clear rules for jail-time credit: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, courts must consider and allow credit for time already served when revoking a deferred or suspended sentence, but may deny credit for a reasonable period tied to violations. You get credit for days in jail or home arrest that directly relate to the revocation. You also get p… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Bill Mercer (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-16 | House | Do Concur | pass | 59 | 39 | | | 2025-04-15 | House | Do Concur | pass | 58 | 42 | | | 2025-04-08 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 31 | 17 | | | 2025-04-07 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 31 | 18 | | | 2025-03-07 | House | Do Pass | pass | 59 | 40 | | | 2025-03-05 | House | Do Pass | pass | 58 | 40 | | ## Actions (33) - 2025-05-13: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-05-08: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-05-02: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-05-02: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-04-29: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-18: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-16: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-16: 3rd Reading Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-15: 2nd Reading Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-08: Returned to House with Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-08: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-07: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-04: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-04-04: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-03-27: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-03-14: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-03-07: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-03-05: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-02-28: Committee Report (House) - 2025-02-28: Fiscal Note Printed (House) - 2025-02-28: Fiscal Note Signed (House) - 2025-02-28: Fiscal Note Received (House) - 2025-02-26: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-02-22: Hearing Canceled (House) - 2025-02-22: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-20: Hearing (House) - 2025-02-20: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-02-20: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-02-19: Fiscal Note Requested (House) - 2025-02-19: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-17: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f346ec1f-2005-4709-a2b1-aac2f1be0d91) - As Amended (Version 2), 2025-04-04: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=27308643-654e-498e-8327-727f3af1fed0) - Introduced, 2025-02-19: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=c4ad21d3-7bb3-41f0-bf1d-e2e6e3c235c2) ## 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 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f346ec1f-2005-4709-a2b1-aac2f1be0d91) - [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=27308643-654e-498e-8327-727f3af1fed0) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=c4ad21d3-7bb3-41f0-bf1d-e2e6e3c235c2) ## 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 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [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-HB582-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).