Legislature’s work on criminal justice and public safety

Public safety has been a significant and growing concern in our communities for the past several years. The 2023 Legislature heard these concerns loud and clear and acted to make our state a safer place to work, play, and raise a family.

We took on human traffickers with HB 112 from Rep. Jodee Etchart. It increased penalties for human trafficking and gave law enforcement more tools to prosecute these heinous crimes. HB 112 has already been credited for a major prostitution bust in Bozeman. SB 265, sponsored by Sen. Mark Noland, drastically increased fines for human trafficking. SB 522 from Sen. Daniel Zolnikov will help provide short-term lodging to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. 

The Legislature aided the victims of sex crimes by passing HB 79 (Rep. Amy Regier), HB 640 (Rep. Narrah Hastings), and SB 38 (Sen. Bob Brown). Those three bills created a sexual assault response network within the Montana Department of Justice, required sexual assault evidence to be preserved for 75 years, and strengthened sex offender registry laws, respectively.