Montana's House of Representatives has once again approved the controversial horse slaughter bill.

By a vote of 59 to 41, the bill was passed without the amendments that were suggested by Governor Brian Schweitzer earlier this month when he vetoed a portion of the bill.

On Wednesday, the sponsor of the bill, MT State Representative Ed Butcher (R-Winifred) asked his peers not to concur with the Gubernatorial amendments.

House Bill 418 seeks to prevent lawsuits that might discourage a horse slaughter plant from moving to Montana; the Governor's amendment strikes the bill's two key provisions for discouraging lawsuits.

Butcher says the bill has no value if the amendments are included: "The sections the Governor wants to strike out really don't enter into the issue until these plants have been approved. So we're just trying to get to a situation where no one is being denied the right to go to court. Everyone can go."

The bill will now go back to the Senate for review before moving to the governor in its original form to await his action again.

Click here to read the full text of HB 418.