In addition, the committee heard final updates from agency staff, learned about the challenges and opportunities presented by recent revisions to Montana's probation and parole supervision laws, and authorized legislation to be drafted for the Judicial Branch and the Department of Justice.

Three of the committee's 4 interim studies resulted in legislation.

For the HJ 31 study of the Montana Board of Crime Control, the LJIC voted to request legislation to:

• revise the structure and staffing of the board (now LC 450);
• revise the duties of the board to remove a requirement for the board to hear appeals of POST Council decisions (now LC 451); and
• revise the membership of the board (now LC 452).

For the HJ 36 study of compensation for wrongfully convicted individuals, the LJIC voted to request legislation to establish a compensation program for certain individuals (now LC 485).

For the SJ 19 study of sexual and violent offender registries, the LJIC voted to request legislation to:

• revise laws related to sex offender evaluations and treatment (now LC 453); and
• provide for automatic removal from the violent offender registry after 10 years (now LC 454).

Each bill will be sponsored by a committee member and introduced during the 2021 legislative session for additional hearings and votes.

The Law and Justice Interim Committee will meet again during the 2021-2022 interim. To received emailed notices when meetings are scheduled and other committee activities, sign up at: https://leg.mt.gov/lyris-list/.

For more information about the committee or to view materials related to the 2019-2020 interim, please visit the committee's website or contact committee staff.

Committee website: https://leg.mt.gov/committees/interim/2019ljic/
Committee staff: Rachel Weiss, 406-444-5367, rweiss@mt.gov