Montana LC 4220: Authorize transfers and other necessary measures to implement HB2 Section D

Bill Text

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69th Legislature 2025 LC 4220
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1 _____________ BILL NO. _____________
2 INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________
3
4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE PROVISIONS OF HOUSE BILL NO. 2;
5 INCREASING THE NUMBER OF DISTRICT COURT JUDGES; PROVIDING FOR A REPORT ON
6 COMMUNICATIONS AT THE MONTANA STATE PRISON; PROVIDING FOR AN INTERIM STUDY OF
7 STATE OFFENDER INDIVIDUAL RE-ENTRY SERVICES; PROVIDING FOR AN INTERIM STUDY ON
8 WAGES AND CONSOLIDATION OF LEGAL SERVICES; REVISING LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND
9 COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDREN IN CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES; AMENDING SECTIONS
10 3-5-102 AND 41-3-425, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND A TERMINATION DATE.”
11
12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
13
14 Section 1. Section 3-5-102, MCA, is amended to read:
15 "3-5-102. Number of judges. In each judicial district, there must be the following number of judges of
16 the district court:
17 (1) in the 2nd, 7th, 16th, 20th, and 21st districts, two judges each;
18 (2) in the 1st, 8th, and 18th districts, four judges each;
19 (3) in the 4th and 11th districts, five judges each;
20 (4) in the 13th district, eight 10 judges; and
21 (5) in all other districts, one judge each."
22
23 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Reporting on inappropriate or illicit communications within
24 corrections. (1) For the interim following the 69th legislative session, the department of corrections shall report
25 at each meeting of the law and justice interim committee and the judicial branch, law enforcement, and justice
26 interim budget committee on the details and effectiveness of its methods to reduce inappropriate or illicit
27 communications to or from inmates at the Montana state prison.
28 (2) Inappropriate or illicit communications include those that discuss or solicit victim information,
(Primary Sponsor)

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1 drug trafficking arrangements, or other illegal and restricted activities.
2 (3) As a part of its reporting, the department of corrections shall provide quarterly reports on the
3 following:
4 (a) the number of e-mails, messages, and other electronic communications to and from inmates at
5 the Montana state prison;
6 (b) the number of e-mails blocked by automatic scanning systems;
7 (c) the result of the department of correction's audit of both the blocked and unblocked
8 communications to determine the rate of false negatives and false positives;
9 (d) a description of the process and cost of electronic monitoring of tablets and devices; and
10 (e) any incidents at the Montana State Prison that involve e-mail communications that were
11 inappropriately filtered by automatic scanning systems.
12
13 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Study of offender re-entry services. (1) For the interim following the
14 69th legislative session, the law and justice interim committee shall study issues related to the provision of
15 offender re-entry services provided by the state.
16 (2) At a minimum, the study must include a consideration of the following:
17 (a) costs and benefits of offender individual re-entry services;
18 (b) re-entry programs successful in other states; and
19 (c) impacts of re-entry services on recidivism in Montana and in other states.
20 (3) The law and justice interim committee shall complete the study by September 15, 2026, and
21 report its findings and recommendations, including potential legislation, to the 70th legislature and to the judicial
22 branch, law enforcement, and justice interim budget committee.
23 (4) The law and justice interim committee shall invite the members of the judicial branch, law
24 enforcement, and justice interim budget committee to each of its meetings to participate in the study.
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26 NEW SECTION. Section 4. Study on consolidation of legal services. (1) For the interim following
27 the 69th legislative session, the general government interim budget committee shall study issues related to the
28 consolidation of legal services across state agencies and discrepancies in the compensation for legal

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1 occupations across state agencies.
2 (2) By September 15, 2025, the department of administration shall report to the general
3 government interim budget committee on the following:
4 (a) the distribution of hourly wage rates of lawyers and other legal occupations in state agencies;
5 (b) a comparison of state pay rates and benefits to rates and benefits paid to lawyers and other
6 legal occupations in the private sector;
7 (c) considerations or explanations for differences in the pay rates across state agencies;
8 (d) an explanation on how pay rates for lawyers and other legal occupations are set across state
9 agencies; and
10 (e) the extent to which pay exceptions are made and for what purposes.
11 (3) By June 30, 2026, the department of administration shall provide to the general government
12 interim budget committee a