HB 621 allows local first responder entities, including police departments, sheriff's offices, fire departments, and emergency medical service providers, to establish peer support programs. These programs must have a written policy that outlines qualifications for peer supporters, defines peer support sessions, and ensures confidentiality for participants. The bill prohibits qualified peer supporters from testifying about the content of peer support sessions, with exceptions if an employee has committed or plans a crime, or indicates intent to harm themselves or others.
HB 575 revises the circumstances under which a public defender may be assigned in court proceedings. It specifically authorizes courts to assign a public defender to a parent facing involuntary termination of their parental rights. The bill also allows courts to order a public defender to serve as a member of a treatment court team. These changes expand the scope of public defender services to include these specific situations.
HB 117 establishes project priorities for the state's criminal justice data warehouse, affecting the Board of Crime Control, the Criminal Justice Oversight Council, and various state and local criminal justice agencies. It directs the Board of Crime Control to focus on tasks like creating unique identifiers to link data across agencies, acquiring specialized software for data management, and integrating more local criminal justice data. The bill also mandates regular reporting on progress to legislative committees and appropriates over $1.4 million in general funds for software, staff positions, and judicial data contributions.
HB 745 revises school laws to enhance student safety by requiring new policies and background checks. It mandates that school districts adopt a student protection policy, which includes conducting fingerprint-based national criminal history background checks. These checks are required for any individual, regardless of employment status, who may have unsupervised contact with students. The bill also requires background checks for educator licensure, and non-compliant districts must submit a correction plan to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Senate Bill 69 revises reporting requirements for county attorneys and the Attorney General concerning child sexual abuse cases. It changes the frequency of county attorneys' reports to the Attorney General from semi-annual to annual, due by June 1 each year. These reports must include specific details such as case identifiers, dates of charges or prosecution declinations, and conviction outcomes. The Attorney General will then compile this aggregated data and report annually to the law and justice interim committee by August 15, enhancing tracking and oversight of these cases.
SB 393 appropriates $6 million from the state's general fund for the biennium starting July 1, 2025, to reimburse expenditures related to felony criminal jurisdiction on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The funding is distributed to Lake County and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Initial funds are contingent upon Lake County rescinding its resolution to withdraw from Public Law 280. Further distributions require an agreement between the state, Lake County, and the Tribes addressing cost-sharing for Public Law 280 implementation within Lake County, and Lake County's ability to withdraw consent for jurisdiction is restricted until at least June 2027.
House Bill 140 establishes a property tax assistance program for certain first responders and their surviving spouses. It provides a reduction in residential property taxes for law enforcement officers and firefighters who were injured in the line of duty. Unmarried surviving spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty are also eligible for this assistance. The amount of the tax reduction is determined by the applicant's income, with lower incomes receiving a greater benefit. Eligibility requires the property to be the primary residence and the first responder to meet specific criteria related to their line-of-duty injury or death.
SB 348 revises laws related to sexual assault, primarily by increasing penalties for offenders. The bill raises the maximum fines and imprisonment terms for first, second, and third or subsequent convictions of sexual assault. A key provision mandates that individuals convicted of a second sexual assault offense must register as a sexual offender. These changes directly affect individuals convicted of sexual assault by strengthening legal consequences for the crime.
Senate Bill 413 creates the crime of "disclosing explicit synthetic media," also known as deepfakes, directly affecting individuals who create or share AI-generated content and protecting those falsely depicted. The bill makes it an offense to knowingly share synthetic media portraying an identifiable person engaged in sexual conduct or depicting intimate body parts without their consent, if it would cause substantial emotional distress. It also criminalizes disclosing such media with intent to harass or threaten, or possessing and threatening to disclose it for extortion. Penalties include fines and jail time, with increased penalties for repeat offenses or if the depicted person is under 18, though exceptions exist for reporting crimes, research, or legal proceedings.
HB 396 revises existing laws concerning bail for arrested individuals. It requires that a person must appear before a judge in a court of record before being admitted to bail, and it clarifies that interstate agreements apply in certain situations. The bill expands the criteria courts must consider when deciding whether to release or detain a defendant, adding factors like the defendant's history of absconding and the costs incurred by a government to transport them. Furthermore, it revises the factors for determining the amount of bail, including ensuring protection from bodily injury and considering a defendant's prior abscondence history.
