Immigration

HB 805 aims to revise existing workers' compensation laws. The bill would make individuals who are unlawfully employed aliens ineligible to receive workers' compensation benefits. Additionally, it mandates that an insurer must close a workers' compensation claim if the claimant leaves the United States or certain territories while their claim is active. These changes directly affect individuals applying for workers' compensation and the insurers responsible for processing claims.

HB 439, "Creating sheriffs' first initiative for cooperation and communication," aimed to regulate arrests, searches, and seizures conducted by federal employees and agents in Montana. The bill would have required federal personnel, unless designated as state peace officers, to obtain written permission from the county sheriff before making an arrest, search, or seizure. It provided exceptions for situations like operations on federal land or when an immediate arrest for a witnessed crime was necessary. For some exceptions, permission from the state attorney general would have been required. The bill also allowed county sheriffs discretion on whether to implement these provisions and declared federal laws granting federal employees sheriff-like authority invalid in the state.