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Committee votes to extend Montana healthcare workplace‑violence reporting system
Summary
The House Business and Labor Committee supported removing a sunset on the reporting law passed in 2023 that requires healthcare employers to report violent incidents to the Department of Justice; the department said its portal is running with minimal cost and hospitals are using the data for prevention.
Helena — The House Business and Labor Committee voted to continue Montana’s healthcare workplace‑violence reporting system by voting do‑pass on House Bill 543, a measure to repeal a sunset on the 2023 law that requires healthcare employers to document and report violent incidents to the Department of Justice.
Representative Ed Buttrey, sponsor of HB 543, said the 2023 law created a reporting framework the Department of Justice built into an online portal and that the department’s early work has produced a year of usable data. The bill would remove the law’s scheduled sunset so DOJ’s system remains in place.
Vicki Byrd, chief executive officer of the Montana Nurses Association, provided a packet of data to the committee and told members that from Oct. 1, 2023, through Oct. 1, 2024, employers reported 534 violent events in Montana health settings; 123 of those events had been reported to local law enforcement. Byrd said half of the victims were nurses and that many incidents included threats, assaults and incidents causing physical pain.
Allen Doane of the Department of Justice told the committee the reporting portal is automated, operating with minimal cost and used by hospital administrators; he urged the committee not to amend the law, saying changes could invalidate trend data. The department recommended keeping the statute in force to collect multi‑year data that hospitals and policy makers can use to prevent workplace violence.
During executive action, the committee voted to send HB 543 to the floor with a do‑pass recommendation; committee minutes record the bill as passed out of committee. The DOJ and stakeholders, including the Montana Nurses Association, said they will continue to work with facilities to refine reporting and use the data for workplace safety improvements.
Why it matters: Health‑care workers report a high incidence of workplace violence nationally; Montana’s law aims to collect accurate, multi‑year data so employers and state agencies can identify trends and invest in training, environmental changes and prevention efforts.
Next steps: The bill was reported do‑pass to the House floor.
