Attorney General Fox's legislative priorities advance
Attorney General Tim Fox’s office announced Feb. 28 that his top legislative priorities are successfully moving through the Montana Legislature.
“The fact that legislators have, by wide margins, passed my top priorities out of the first chamber shows that these are not Republican or Democrat issues — they’re Montana issues,” Fox said. “I am proud to be working with members of both parties on common-sense solutions for taking on repeat DUI offenders, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and improving law enforcement infrastructure in Montana.”
Fox’s top bills include:
• House Bill 355, sponsored by Rep. Christy Clark, R-Choteau, calls for tougher penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol. The bill passed in the House by a 78-20 vote.
HB 355 increases the window used to determine if a person is subject to enhanced criminal penalties and driver licensing sanctions for a second or subsequent DUI from five years to 10. Currently, a person is only charged for a first-time DUI as long as a prior DUI was more than five years earlier than the second.
• HB 335, sponsored by Rep. Jenny Eck, D-Helena, and Senate Bill 213, sponsored by Sen. Cliff Larsen, D-Missoula, calls for protecting the public against sex offenders.
HB 335, which unanimously passed in the House, would allow a district court judge to designate a tier level to sex offenders who do not have one.
SB 213, which unanimously passed in the Senate, would require sex offenders who move into Montana to provide a DNA sample to the state DNA database.
• HB 140, sponsored by Rep. Tom Berry, R-Roundup, would criminalize new designer drugs, such as “bath salts” that mimic dangerous, illegal drugs that are not designated as unlawful in statute. HB 140 passed the House by a 91-7 vote.
• HB 287, sponsored by Rep. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, would protect the elderly and disabled by imposing stiffer consumer protection penalties for individuals or businesses that target the elderly or mentally disabled for scams. HB 287 passed the House by a 79-20 vote.
• HB 137, sponsored by Rep. Kim Dudik, D-Missoula, would close a parole-eligibility loophole for juvenile offenders. The bill was signed by Gov. Steve Bullock last week.
HB 137 closed a loophole stemming from a recent court case. The new law provides clarity and legislative intent in criminal statutes to avoid a situation that makes violent offenders immediately eligible for parole.
• Fox also is working with lawmakers to make investments in critical law enforcement infrastructure, including increasing the Montana Highway Patrol’s presence in areas impacted by the Bakken oil boom; expanding the skillset at the state Crime Lab by adding a scientist focused on testing for synthetic drugs such as bath salts; and improving the accuracy of the Sexual and Violent Offender Registry by dedicating a full-time, permanent investigator toward tracking down offenders who fail to register properly.