HB 691 clarifies the purpose and requirements for Montana's existing criminal justice data warehouse, which collects and stores information from state and local agencies. The bill specifies that the warehouse must include detailed offender data - such as complete criminal histories, sentencing timelines, drug involvement in offenses, and pretrial release outcomes - to help officials make data-driven decisions about the justice system. State agencies, courts, and other entities are required to contribute data to the warehouse while retaining ownership of their information, with strict confidentiality protections outlined. This bill directly affects law enforcement, courts, and correctional agencies by standardizing how they share and use criminal justice data.
This bill revises laws concerning the reporting and tracking of child sexual abuse and exploitation cases. It requires county attorneys to gather all investigative materials, request assistance from the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to identify alleged perpetrators when needed, and certify receipt of reports. County attorneys must also report detailed case statuses, including the number of reports not prosecuted, to the Attorney General twice yearly. The Attorney General is then mandated to aggregate this information and report it to specific legislative committees, while DPHHS must advise the Attorney General on uncharged cases it believes warrant prosecution.
HB 236 aimed to allow mental health evaluations for criminal defendants, used to determine their fitness to proceed in court, to be conducted within detention centers or state prisons. It directed the Department of Public Health and Human Services to create rules for these facilities, covering aspects like defendant care, security for evaluators, and the use of remote communication for examinations. The bill also outlined which entities, such as the courts or public defender's office, would be responsible for covering the costs of these evaluations and related expenses. This would have impacted criminal defendants undergoing such evaluations and the correctional facilities hosting them.
HB 93 sought to establish a system for compensating individuals who were wrongly convicted of felony crimes and later exonerated. It would allow eligible claimants, defined as those imprisoned for felonies they did not commit, to file a civil action against the state or county of conviction. To receive compensation, claimants would need to prove their actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence and waive other legal remedies against the state. The bill also provided for a $5,000 transition assistance grant, expungement of the conviction, and outlined how damages and legal costs would be paid, excluding compensation for crimes that are now legal.
HB 569 sought to revise laws related to perjury and false swearing. The bill proposed changes to the penalties for these offenses, introducing mandatory minimum jail sentences and adjusting maximum terms and fines. For perjury, the punishment would shift from state prison to county jail, while still requiring a minimum 6-month term. For false swearing, new mandatory minimums for jail time and revised fines were introduced. Additionally, the bill mandated that credible allegations of both perjury and false swearing be investigated by an agency independent of the judiciary.
HB 912 proposes creating a new secure forensic facility in Montana, overseen by the Department of Public Health and Human Services. This facility would provide care, treatment, and security for up to 70 individuals involved in the legal system due to mental illness, including those needing competency restoration or forensic evaluations. The bill allocates $60 million from the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Fund to plan, construct, and equip this facility, while also expanding the fund's uses to support new behavioral health infrastructure.
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.
