HB 743 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Create reporting requirements for elder exploitation

HB 743 establishes new reporting requirements for allegations of exploitation involving incapacitated persons or vulnerable adults. It mandates that the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) forward credible exploitation reports to the relevant county attorney. County attorneys must then annually report the status of these cases, including charges filed, convictions, or declinations, to the Attorney General. The Attorney General compiles this data and reports aggregated information by county to a legislative committee each year, enhancing oversight of elder exploitation cases. The bill also revises the content required in initial reports of exploitation.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 25, 2025 Signed May 13, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0743_X(1).pdf HB0743_X(2).pdf · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to clarify the Attorney General's authority to request investigative findings from county attorneys in cases where a prosecution was declined, ensuring oversight of potential exploitation cases. Additionally, a new coordination clause was added to address potential conflicts with another bill (HB 532) that might repeal or modify the underlying offense.
Scope change
The scope of the Attorney General's oversight was expanded to explicitly include cases where county attorneys decline prosecution, and the bill now includes a contingency clause for future legislative changes.
ENFORCEMENT

Changed the Attorney General's role from summarizing facts after a decline to actively requesting investigative findings to determine if prosecution should have occurred.

REQUIREMENT

Added a coordination instruction requiring the Attorney General to act if a related bill repeals the offense and establishes new provisions.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 11, 2025 · House Apr 18, 2025

How they voted

444
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 50
Apr 11, 2025
D Democratic18
13 Yea 4 Nay 1
72% Yea
R Republican32
31 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
57
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
1
May 8, 2025
Signed into law
(H) Signed by Governor
lower
May 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Signed by President
upper
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Signed by Speaker
lower
Apr 18, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (99-0-1)
house
Apr 12, 2025
Introduced
(S) Returned to House with Amendments
upper
Apr 11, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (44-4-2)
senate
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 18, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary
lower
Mar 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bill Mercer
Bill Mercer
RRepublican
MT
52