HB 93 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Establish compensation for wrongful conviction

HB 93 sought to establish a system for compensating individuals who were wrongly convicted of felony crimes and later exonerated. It would allow eligible claimants, defined as those imprisoned for felonies they did not commit, to file a civil action against the state or county of conviction. To receive compensation, claimants would need to prove their actual innocence by a preponderance of the evidence and waive other legal remedies against the state. The bill also provided for a $5,000 transition assistance grant, expungement of the conviction, and outlined how damages and legal costs would be paid, excluding compensation for crimes that are now legal.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2024

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Governor

Introduced Dec 16, 2024 Last action May 22, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0093_2(16).pdf → HB0093_3.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from HB0093.2 to HB0093.3. The most significant substantive change is the increase in the burden of proof required for a claimant to receive compensation; the text now explicitly requires 'CLEAR AND CONVINCING evidence' instead of the previous 'preponderance of the evidence.' Additionally, the petition requirements were expanded to demand a 'prima facie showing' of reliable factual evidence establishing all legal elements before a claim can proceed.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the standard of proof for wrongful conviction claims has been tightened, making it more difficult for claimants to succeed.

REQUIREMENT

The burden of proof for compensation claims was increased from a 'preponderance of the evidence' to 'clear and convincing evidence,' raising the threshold for claimants to prove their innocence.

Petitioners must now include a 'prima facie showing' that they have reliable factual evidence establishing all legal elements of the claim.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was updated from HB0093.2 to HB0093.3, and minor formatting adjustments were made to the text structure.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 11, 2025 · House Mar 5, 2025

How they voted

26–23

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 50

Apr 11, 2025

D Democratic18

17 Nay 1

94% Nay

R Republican32

26 Yea 6 Nay

81% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 11, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (26-23-1)

senate

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary

upper

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary

upper

Mar 6, 2025

Committee

(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary

upper

Mar 5, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (96-2-2)

house

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Appropriations

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Appropriations

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Committee

(H) Rereferred to Committee - (H) Appropriations

lower

Mar 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary

lower

Mar 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary

lower

Dec 20, 2024

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary

lower

Dec 16, 2024

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors