_____________ bill NO. _____________

INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT revising laws related to officers of the court; allowing a chief of police to appoint special service officers as court officers; revising the definition of "special services officer" to allow for full-time officers; and AMENDING SECTIONS 3-6-303 AND 7-32-201, MCA."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 3-6-303, MCA, is amended to read:

"3-6-303. Officers of court. (1) The chief of police of the city is the executive officer of the municipal court. The chief of police shall serve all process and execute all orders of the court, either in person or by subordinate police officer, who shall execute process in the chief's name.

(2)        The chief of police, with the approval of the judge, shall appoint one or more police officers, special services officers, or reserve officers, as defined in 7-32-201, as court officers, one of whom shall attend the sessions of the court and perform all duties in connection with the court that the judge may require."

Section 2. Section 7-32-201, MCA, is amended to read:

"7-32-201. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:

(1)        "Auxiliary officer" means an unsworn, part-time, volunteer member of a law enforcement agency who may perform but is not limited to the performance of such functions as civil defense, search and rescue, office duties, crowd and traffic control, and crime prevention activities.

(2)        "Council" means the Montana public safety officer standards and training council established in 2-15-2029.

(3)        "General law enforcement duties" means patrol operations performed for detection, prevention, and suppression of crime and the enforcement of criminal and traffic codes of this state and its local governments.

(4)        "Law enforcement agency" means a law enforcement service provided directly by a local government.

(5)        "Law enforcement officer" means a sworn, full-time, employed member of a law enforcement agency who is a peace officer, as defined in 46-1-202, and has arrest authority, as described in 46-6-210.

(6)        "Reserve officer" means a sworn, part-time, volunteer member of a law enforcement agency or a part-time, paid member of a law enforcement agency serving as a court officer as provided in 3-6-303. The volunteer member or the part-time paid member is a peace officer, as defined in 46-1-202, and has arrest authority, as described in 46-6-210, only when authorized to perform these functions as a representative of the law enforcement agency.

(7)        "Special services officer" means an unsworn, part-time or full-time, volunteer or paid member of a law enforcement agency who may perform functions, other than general law enforcement duties, that require specialized skills, training, and qualifications, who may be required to train with a firearm, and who may carry a firearm while on assigned duty as provided in 7-32-239."