Establish the sexual and violent offender presentence investigation and reporting unit
SB 89 establishes a dedicated "Sexual and Violent Offender Presentence Investigation and Reporting Unit" within Montana's Department of Corrections to handle investigations for specific offenses. The unit, staffed by probation and parole officers, must complete presentence reports within 30 business days for defendants convicted of sexual offenses (as defined in §46-23-502) or violent offenses (as defined in §46-23-502). This ensures courts receive timely, thorough reports to consider during sentencing for these cases, replacing the previous system where general probation officers handled such investigations. The bill also updates existing law to mandate these investigations and includes related provisions for psychosexual evaluations, with costs typically paid by the defendant.
Bill status
died
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2024
Committee Review
Jan 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Dec 27, 2024
Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
LC0241.pdf
→
SB0089_1.pdf
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from LC 0241 to SB 89.1, and a new requirement was added mandating that defendants pay for all sexual and violent offender evaluations. However, the law includes a safety net: if a defendant is found to be indigent by the district court, the government (county or state) must cover the costs instead.
Scope change
The bill's scope now explicitly includes provisions for funding the evaluation process based on the defendant's financial status.
TECHNICAL
The bill number was changed from LC 0241 to SB 89.1, and the title was updated to 'Senate Bill No. 89'.
FISCAL
A new provision requires defendants to pay for all costs related to sexual and violent offender evaluations.
ELIGIBILITY
An exception was added stating that indigent defendants (those determined by the court to be unable to pay) will have their evaluation costs covered by the county or state.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2025
How they voted
22–0
Passed
Total votes 22
Mar 3, 2025
D
Democratic8
100% Yea
R
Republican14
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
27
Key actions
3
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Mar 3, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (22-0)
senate
Mar 3, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Jan 28, 2025
Committee
(S) Rereferred to Committee - (S) Finance and Claims
upper
Jan 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Jan 23, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Jan 7, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Dec 27, 2024
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Laura Smith
DDemocratic
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