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SB 168MONTANASession 2025State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Montana establishes a three-year statute of limitations for lakeshore regulation violations and exempts minor modifications from permits

Original title: Revise laws related to lakeshore protection

Last action · May 8, 2025: Chapter Number AssignedSponsor: Greg Hertz

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Does

Montana establishes a three-year for enforcement actions against property owners or contractors regarding lakeshore regulation violations, effective immediately upon passage and approval. The law exempts minor ongoing maintenance, remodeling, or modifications costing less than $10,000 over a five-year period from future lakeshore protection review, unless specific environmental or navigational harms occur. It also allows local or state governments to compensate property owners to alter or remove existing structures.

Why it matters

Property owners and contractors near lakes gain legal certainty by limiting enforcement windows for existing structures to three years while avoiding permit requirements for minor, low-cost maintenance projects.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Property owners

Property owners face a restricted 3-year window for enforcement actions on existing lakeshore structures and gain permit exemptions for minor maintenance under $10,000.

Directly affected

Contractors

Contractors are subject to the same 3-year limitation period for liability regarding lakeshore regulation violations.

Directly affected

Local governing bodies

Local governing bodies must enforce lakeshore regulations within the newly established 3-year timeframe unless specific environmental or navigational harms apply.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the time limit for the state or local government to file an enforcement action on a lakeshore structure?
Within 3 years of the completion of construction or the issuance of the permit, whichever is later.
What qualifies as a minor modification exempt from lakeshore protection review?
A change costing less than $10,000 over a 5-year period, excluding unpaid personal services provided by the owner or another individual, that does not involve significant excavation, dredging, in-fill, or interference with aquatic life and navigation.
When does this new law take effect?
It is effective on passage and approval in 2025.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

35 actions
  1. May 8, 2025Senate
    Chapter Number Assigned
  2. May 5, 2025SenateEnrolled
    (S) Signed by Governor
  3. Apr 25, 2025Senate
    (S) Transmitted to Governor
  4. Apr 25, 2025House
    (H) Signed by Speaker
  5. Apr 21, 2025Senate
    (S) Signed by President
  6. Apr 12, 2025Senate
    (S) Returned from Enrolling
Show 29 earlier actions
  1. Apr 11, 2025Senate
    (S) Sent to Enrolling
  2. Apr 11, 2025House
    (H) 3rd Reading
  3. Apr 11, 2025House
    (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading
  4. Apr 10, 2025House
    (H) 2nd Reading
  5. Apr 10, 2025House
    (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading
  6. Apr 9, 2025HouseCommittee
    (H) Committee Report
  7. Apr 8, 2025HouseCommittee
    (H) Committee Executive Action
  8. Mar 6, 2025House
    (H) Hearing
  9. Feb 19, 2025House
    (H) 1st Reading
  10. Feb 19, 2025HouseCommittee
    (H) Referred to Committee
  11. Feb 18, 2025Senate
    (S) Transmitted to House
  12. Feb 18, 2025Senate
    (S) 3rd Reading
  13. Feb 18, 2025Senate
    (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading
  14. Feb 15, 2025Senate
    (S) 2nd Reading
  15. Feb 15, 2025Senate
    (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading
  16. Feb 11, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Committee Report
  17. Feb 10, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Committee Executive Action
  18. Jan 23, 2025Senate
    (S) Hearing
  19. Jan 21, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Referred to Committee
  20. Jan 20, 2025Senate
    (S) 1st Reading
  21. Jan 17, 2025SenateIntroduced
    (S) Introduced
  22. Jan 17, 2025House
    (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
  23. Jan 17, 2025House
    (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
  24. Jan 16, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Assembly
  25. Jan 16, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
  26. Jan 16, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
  27. Jan 16, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Edit
  28. Jan 15, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Legal Review
  29. Nov 11, 2024House
    (LC) Drafter Assigned

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Greg HertzSenate · District 7RepublicanPrimary sponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Introduction of Statute of Limitations for Lakeshore Violations

The legislation introduces a strict 3-year enforcement window for historical and existing shoreline structures, creating a legal cutoff that did not previously exist under state statute.

MontanaGreg Hertz

Connected Entities

C. Sprunger, K. Seekins-Crowe, Montana and 1 more
PersonC. Sprunger“Co-introducer of the bill.”Map →
PersonK. Seekins-Crowe“Co-introducer of the bill.”Map →
locationMontana“State where the legislation applies.”Map →
PersonGreg Hertz“Primary sponsor of the bill, Republican Senator for District 7.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

bills.legmt.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy35
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz20
    Current news / social attention level

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