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Committee reviews cleanup to End of Watch Trust; bill clarifies catastrophic-injury rules, benefits and administration
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Summary
House Bill 487 would revise and clarify provisions of the End of Watch Trust created last session to define catastrophic injury, payment length and administrative authorities.
Senator Barry Usher opened the hearing on the End of Watch cleanup bill (House Bill 487) as a technical follow-up to the program established last session. Usher said the original law created a trust to provide continued health-care coverage and monthly payments for spouses and children of officers killed in the line of duty or officers permanently and totally disabled by on-duty catastrophic injuries.
Supporters framed the bill as clarifying the original intent and fixing technical gaps. Shelby DeMars of the Montana Police Protective Association said the bill "narrows and clarifies the definition of catastrophic injury" and grants rulemaking authority to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Jesse Luther of the Association of Montana Troopers and other law‑enforcement representatives said the changes define that payments total 60 monthly payments and prevent multiplicative claims (for example, a second 60‑month period upon a beneficiary’s later death).
Witnesses described the trust’s structure: the Legislature placed $10 million into the fund last session and the program is designed to operate off unobligated interest and earnings, protecting the $10 million principal. The bill would also clarify the trust’s use of interest, allow DOJ to be reimbursed for administrative costs up to a specified percentage, and preserve a four‑month continuation of healthcare coverage the trust provides.
Committee members asked technical questions about whether DOJ or the Board of Investments should accept donations and about the administrative fee cap in the amendments. Senator Usher and DOJ witnesses explained the $10 million sits in a board‑managed trust and that an appropriation structure makes a smaller sum available to DOJ for administration; witnesses said the draft amendment includes a cap "not to exceed 15%" for reimbursement but that DOJ’s actual base appropriation to administer the program is substantially smaller (witnesses noted an appropriation of about $800,000 was part of the program budgetary design).
Opponents did not appear in force; the hearing included extensive proponent testimony from law-enforcement organizations and DOJ staff. The sponsor described the bill as a targeted cleanup needed to make the trust sustainable and asked committee members to support passage. No final committee votes are recorded in the transcript.
