# Montana SB 41: Requiring substitution of district court judges by random selection

Montana SB 41, Requiring substitution of district court judges by random selection, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) Senate bill sponsored by Daniel Emrich (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-08 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB41-2025
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Montana SB 41
- State: Montana
- Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025)
- Title: Requiring substitution of district court judges by random selection
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2024-12-12
- Last action: 2025-05-08, Chapter Number Assigned
- Sponsor: Daniel Emrich (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Courts, Judges and Justices
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (176 yes, 120 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Montana courts use random replacement judges: benefit, low. When a district judge is replaced because they are substituted, disqualified for cause, or recused, the court uses a random process to pick the new judge. The process must try to choose a judge from a district reasonably close to the original judge’s district while staying random. The Office of the…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Daniel Emrich (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Tracy Sharp (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-11 | House | Do Concur | pass | 56 | 43 |   |
| 2025-04-10 | House | Do Concur | pass | 56 | 42 |   |
| 2025-01-29 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 32 | 17 |   |
| 2025-01-28 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 32 | 18 |   |

## Actions (28)

- 2025-05-08: Chapter Number Assigned (Senate)
- 2025-05-05: Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Transmitted to Governor (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-04-21: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-04-12: Returned from Enrolling (Senate)
- 2025-04-11: Sent to Enrolling (Senate)
- 2025-04-11: 3rd Reading (House)
- 2025-04-10: 2nd Reading (House)
- 2025-04-08: Committee Report (House)
- 2025-04-08: Committee Executive Action (House)
- 2025-04-03: Hearing (House)
- 2025-02-26: Fiscal Note Printed (Senate)
- 2025-02-25: Fiscal Note Unsigned (Senate)
- 2025-02-24: Fiscal Note Received (Senate)
- 2025-02-19: Fiscal Note Requested (Senate)
- 2025-02-18: Fiscal Note Requested (House)
- 2025-01-30: 1st Reading (House)
- 2025-01-30: Referred to Committee (House)
- 2025-01-29: Transmitted to House (Senate)
- 2025-01-29: 3rd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-01-28: 2nd Reading (Senate)
- 2025-01-24: Committee Report (Senate)
- 2025-01-23: Committee Executive Action (Senate)
- 2025-01-10: Hearing (Senate)
- 2025-01-07: Referred to Committee (Senate)
- 2025-01-06: 1st Reading (Senate)
- 2024-12-12: Introduced (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=d32776a7-3e4a-42e9-ae20-2292be545df8)
- As Amended (Version 2), 2025-01-24: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=89a0a0e2-3c5d-40f3-9db2-04a88e702d66)
- Introduced, 2024-12-12: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=85ff2937-433f-4861-bc52-0c407cbaa406)

## 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=d32776a7-3e4a-42e9-ae20-2292be545df8)
- [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=89a0a0e2-3c5d-40f3-9db2-04a88e702d66)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=85ff2937-433f-4861-bc52-0c407cbaa406)

## 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-SB41-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).