Taking a look at what bills made it into law
As the 61st Legislative Session has come to a close, I first want to thank each and every one of you for providing me the honor to serve you once again in Helena. I also want to send out a very special thanks to Rep. Janna Taylor of Rollins for doing such a wonderful job of keeping the West Shore Community informed of the weekly activities going on in Helena.
The 2009 session saw a total of 2,369 bill drafts requested, 1,316 of these introduced, and as of now, approximately 480 bills signed into law. With the make up in the House at 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, a bill had to be a bipartisan effort to see it make its way through the process. Although, many of these bills that passed were general clean up bills or never made much of a splash in the headlines, I thought it would be interesting to write about some of the bills that will become law over the next couple of months. All too often, the voters are inundated with the political headlines as bills come and go throughout the session. Unfortunately the general public does not always get to see what bills actually become law as the session adjourns and these laws are put in place across the State of Montana. I have broken them down into different areas of interest and my hope is to not make them political, but instead, try to make this an educational article of "just what does each bill do."
Law & Justice
1. HB 55 ( Ray Hawk, R-Florence) Geographical Restrictions on Juvenile Sexual Offenders. Restricts Level 3 youth sex offenders from residing at a location close to a private or public school, a preschool, a licensed daycare, church, or a park maintained by a city, town, or county.
2. HB 228 (Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel) Citizens Self Defense Law or "Castle Doctrine." This bill entails:
-That a person has no duty to flee or summon law enforcement prior to defending oneself or another.
- That certain felons can never receive a conceal weapons permit even though they have completed their sentence.
- That, in a criminal trial, when a defendant has offered evidence of justifiable use of force, the state has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's actions were not justified (innocent until proven guilty).
- That a person can warn or threaten an aggressor, including drawing or presenting a weapon, prior to using justifiable force, and then allows the use of justifiable force, including deadly force to defend oneself or another.
-That confiscated firearms will not be destroyed, but rather sold to an appropriate dealer.
- That legal possession of firearms is not prevented by landlords, hotels or motels.
-That a private person may use reasonable force to detain a person in a citizen's arrest.
-Leaves in place the state's concealed carry permitting process in cities. The existing permitting process is honored by similar permitting statutes in other states.
3. HB 246 (Joel Boniek, R-Livingston) Exempt Montana Made Firearms. This bill was more of a States Rights vs. Federal Government bill. It exempts Montana made firearms and ammunition from regulation of the Federal Governments' Interstate Commerce Clause. Firearms made and sold in Montana are not subject to the Interstate Commerce Clause since these products never go between states for transaction. Thus, only the State of Montana would have the right to regulate these firearms that are made and sold without ever leaving the State.
4. HB 288 (Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel) Ban on Reproductive Human Cloning. I think the title says it all.
5. SB 158 (Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell) Revise Number of Judges. This bill allows for three more District Court Judges in the State of Montana. The locations are Yellowstone, Lewis & Clark, and most importantly Flathead County.
6. SB 171 (Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell) Criminal Damage to Rental Property. A tenant found to be guilty of damaging property over $1000 in value above their damage deposit can be sentenced now to a fine of up to $1000 or no more than 6 months in county jail, or both.
7. HJ 14 (Wendy Warburton, R-Havre) Support self-defense in national parks. This was a resolution sent to the Federal Government supporting the right to carry a firearm in a National Park.
8. SB 476 (Jim Shockley, R-Victor) Increases the monetary threshold for theft and damage of property from $1,000 to $1,500 before it is considered a felony.
These are just a handful of the 137 bills that the House Judiciary Committee saw over the length of the session. Remember, you can go onto mt.gov and look at any of these bills to see how each representative voted. Please feel free to contact me at anytime at mblasdel@bresnan.net or 261-3269. I look forward to hearing from you and will have another set of bills next week dealing with State Employees and Transportation issues.