_________ Bill No. _______

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act requiring the department of fish, wildlife, and parks to develop and implement a plan regarding law enforcement prior to funding of grants for snowmobile, off-highway vehicle, or national recreation trails programs; requiring coordination between the department and local and federal law enforcement agencies; and requiring law enforcement recordkeeping and a report to the 56th legislature regarding implementation of the plan."

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

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Law enforcement plan required -- coordination between department and law enforcement agencies -- recordkeeping. (1) (a) The department of fish, wildlife, and parks shall develop and implement a general comprehensive plan of state law enforcement applicable to programs regarding:

(i) snowmobiles pursuant to Title 23, chapter 2, part 6;

(ii) off-highway vehicles pursuant to Title 23, chapter 2, part 8; and

(iii) the national recreation trail program pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1247, et seq.

(b) Topics to be addressed in the general plan must include law enforcement response to vandalism, use of off-highway vehicles in hunting violations, trespassing, and other topics that the public and the department consider appropriate to effective law enforcement.

(c) Development of the general plan must allow for public participation and comment to ensure that the general public has the opportunity for input into the planning process.

(d) The general plan must be coordinated with local and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure compatibility between all law enforcement efforts and to avoid duplication of services.

(2) A proposal-specific plan for law enforcement must be included in every grant proposal requested for a program listed in subsection (1), and a grant may not be funded absent a proposal-specific plan. A proposal-specific plan may not conflict with the general plan developed by the department pursuant to subsection (1).

(3) The department shall keep records of law enforcement activities regarding programs listed in subsection (1) in order to register complaints received, enforcement actions taken, and fines and citations issued. The records must be maintained at the department headquarters in Helena and must be open to public inspection during regular department hours.

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Report to legislature. The department of fish, wildlife, and parks shall report to the 56th legislature regarding:

(1) adoption and implementation of the general comprehensive plan of state law enforcement required in [section 1];

(2) the success or shortcomings of the general comprehensive plan of state law enforcement and future needs of law enforcement related to affected programs; and

(3) the number and effectiveness of proposal-specific plans developed pursuant to [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 23, chapter 2, and the provisions of Title 23, chapter 2, apply to [section 1].

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