Senate Bill No. 6

Introduced By christiaens

A Bill for an Act entitled: An Act revising the offense of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner; making it an offense for a person in a youth detention facility, secure detention facility, regional detention facility, short-term detention center, state youth correctional facility, or shelter care facility to possess a deadly weapon; and amending section

45-8-318, MCA.

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

Section 1.  Section 45-8-318, MCA, is amended to read:

"45-8-318.   Possession of deadly weapon by prisoner or youth in facility. (1) Every prisoner committed to the Montana state prison or incarcerated in a county jail, city jail, or regional jail who, while at the state prison or a jail, while being conveyed to or from the Montana state prison or a jail, while at a state prison farm or ranch, while being conveyed to or from any such place, or while under the custody of prison or jail officials, officers, or employees, A person commits the offense of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner if the person purposely or knowingly possesses or carries upon his person or has under his the person's custody or control without lawful authority a dirk, dagger, pistol, revolver, slingshot, sword cane, billy, knuckles made of any metal or hard substance, knife, razor not including a safety razor, or other deadly weapon is guilty of a felony while the person is:

(a) a person committed to the Montana state prison or incarcerated in a county jail, city jail, or regional jail and is:

(i) at the state prison, a state prison farm or ranch, or jail;

(ii) being conveyed to or from a place listed in this subsection (1)(a); or

(iii) under the custody of prison or jail officials, officers, or employees; or

(b) a person in a youth detention facility, secure detention facility, regional detention facility, short-term detention center, state youth correctional facility, or shelter care facility, as those terms are defined in 41-5-103, and is at the facility, being conveyed to or from the facility, or under the custody of the facility officials, officers, or employees.

(2)  He A person convicted of the offense of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not less than 5 years or more than 15 years, such term of imprisonment to commence from the time he would otherwise have been released from jail or prison, or shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(3) The youth court has jurisdiction of any violation of subsection (1)(b) unless a youth's case is transferred to district court, in which case the district court has jurisdiction."

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