House Bill No. 602

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act providing for secure communities and safe schools; providing for and funding local government, community, and school programs for minors at risk of engaging in criminal activity; providing an appropriation; and providing an effective date."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Local government, community, and school programs for minors engaging in or at risk of engaging in criminal activity. (1) The board of crime control shall distribute to local government entities, public schools, and nonprofit organizations $200,000 during the biennium beginning July 1, 1997, for the following three categories of programs:

(a) groups that require matching funds to qualify for federal block grants relating to substance use and abuse by minors, including programs for drug-free and alcohol-free schools and programs addressing substance use and abuse by minors in the general community;

(b) volunteer activities conducted in collaboration with community policing, school policing, antigang activities, and neighborhood safety programs; and

(c) innovative programs that utilize and collaborate with existing resources, such as:

(i) programs of government, business, and citizen entities that are aimed at youth violence prevention, including recreational and other supervised activities for minors;

(ii) community forums;

(iii) parent-youth activities; and

(iv) informational and proactive programs designed to work with minors who are at risk for substance use and abuse, involvement with gangs, dropping out of school, and other destructive behavior.

(2) The board of crime control shall develop and administer guidelines for the distribution of funds under this section on a competitive basis. Applicants are required to demonstrate that their programs are workable and do not duplicate existing programs in the community and its schools.



NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Appropriation. There is appropriated from the general fund to the board of crime control $200,000 to be used by the board during the biennium beginning July 1, 1997, for the purposes of [section 1].



NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997.

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