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Committee hears unanimous executive and court support for moving workers' compensation court into judiciary
Summary
House Bill 516 would transfer the Montana Workers' Compensation Court from the Department of Labor and Industry to the Judicial Branch. Supporters argued the move would modernize case management and bring e‑filing and docket access into the unified court enterprise; fiscal notes estimate a one‑time data migration cost.
HELENA — House Bill 516, sponsored by Representative Walsh, would transfer the Montana Workers’ Compensation Court from the Department of Labor and Industry to the Judicial Branch and fold its administration into the statewide court enterprise.
Representative Walsh said the move would modernize the court’s technology, bring e‑filing and public electronic dockets to users, and allow the Workers’ Compensation Court to share case‑management systems with other courts. The sponsor said the judicial branch would provide supervision and administration and that the bill addresses retirement‑system choices and a transition process for staff.
Judge Lee Bruner, current judge of the Montana Workers’ Compensation Court, told the committee the court’s stakeholders have asked for e‑filing and an electronic docket. “Get us e filing and get us an electronic docket that we can access online,” Judge Bruner said, describing earlier attempts to migrate to the judiciary’s system and software‑license obstacles that the bill would resolve.
Department of Labor and Industry officials including Quinlan O’Connor, chief legal counsel, and Commissioner Sarah Swanson testified in support. O’Connor told the committee the transfer would avoid perceived conflicts where the department both regulates and adjudicates workers’ compensation matters. Commissioner Swanson said the move had broad buy‑in: “We got the judiciary, the executive, the plaintiff’s bar and the defense bar all to sing Kumbaya to you this morning.”
Court administrator Dave McAlpin described technical and fiscal mechanics: the judiciary would need a portion of IT staff resources and a one‑time data roll‑up from legacy databases (CLEO and Snowflake) into the full‑court enterprise. He cited a one‑time vendor estimate in the fiscal note for data migration at roughly $757,000, acknowledging the amount could change depending on the roll‑up scope.
Ending: Committee members voiced support. The committee later approved HB 516 on a committee voice vote; the bill will move to the House floor.
