# Montana SB 464: Revise laws related to appointment of special advocates in abuse and neglect cases Montana SB 464, Revise laws related to appointment of special advocates in abuse and neglect cases, is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) Senate bill sponsored by Dennis Lenz (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-13 (Chapter Number Assigned) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB464-2025 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana SB 464 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Revise laws related to appointment of special advocates in abuse and neglect cases - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-25 - Last action: 2025-05-13, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Dennis Lenz (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Family Law, Minors - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 7 (412 yes, 35 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Every child gets a court advocate: benefit, medium. The court appoints a special advocate in every child abuse or neglect case. Courts first seek trained volunteers; if none are available, a judge can appoint a qualified person or attorney and pay them with public funds. Advocates must be at least 21, complete training and court observation, avoid c… - Quick review in therapeutic group homes: benefit, medium. A qualified person must assess a child's therapeutic needs within 30 days after entering a therapeutic group home. The review uses an age-appropriate, evidence-based tool. It decides if needs can be met in a family or foster home and, if not, identifies the least restrictive setting that fits perma… - Faster state-paid lawyers in child cases: mixed, medium. The court immediately asks the Office of State Public Defender to assign a lawyer for indigent parents or guardians. It also assigns counsel for every child in the case. Parties covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act and children seeking to reinstate parental rights get counsel too. A court cannot… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Dennis Lenz (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-15 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 48 | 2 | | | 2025-04-14 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 48 | 1 | | | 2025-04-11 | House | Do Concur | pass | 90 | 9 | | | 2025-04-10 | House | Do Concur | pass | 89 | 11 | | | 2025-03-06 | Senate | Do Pass | pass | 40 | 9 | | | 2025-03-05 | Senate | Do Pass As Amended | pass | 47 | 3 | | | 2025-03-05 | Senate | AMD-SB0464.001.001 Lenz D/PASS | pass | 50 | 0 | | ## Actions (29) - 2025-05-13: Chapter Number Assigned (Senate) - 2025-05-08: Signed by Governor (Senate) - 2025-05-01: Transmitted to Governor (Senate) - 2025-05-01: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-04-16: Returned from Enrolling (Senate) - 2025-04-15: Sent to Enrolling (Senate) - 2025-04-15: 3rd Reading House Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-14: 2nd Reading House Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-11: Returned to Senate with Amendments (House) - 2025-04-11: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-04-10: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-04-03: Committee Report (House) - 2025-04-03: Revised Fiscal Note Printed (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Fiscal Note Unsigned (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-03-19: Hearing (House) - 2025-03-17: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-03-17: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-03-07: Transmitted to House (Senate) - 2025-03-06: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-05: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-05: 2nd Reading Motion to Amend (Senate) - 2025-03-01: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-02-28: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-02-27: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-02-25: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-02-25: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-25: Introduced (Senate) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2c39d28e-9eb3-4970-b914-9dd52d096b7a) - As Amended (Version 3), 2025-03-29: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f88cae04-e736-4696-b193-a6f063d260a5) - As Amended (Version 2), 2025-03-05: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=416dd56c-8940-4118-8edc-bda975256625) - Introduced, 2025-02-25: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f49ca867-260e-432c-96b7-a76984a902d4) ## 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=2c39d28e-9eb3-4970-b914-9dd52d096b7a) - [As Amended (Version 3) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f88cae04-e736-4696-b193-a6f063d260a5) - [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=416dd56c-8940-4118-8edc-bda975256625) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=f49ca867-260e-432c-96b7-a76984a902d4) ## 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-SB464-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).