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Committee probes Montana Highway Patrol pay, retirement gap and recruiting gains after raises
Summary
Lawmakers questioned DOJ and MHP representatives about a 14% salary-survey increase already granted, an ongoing request for additional pay authority, a $2 million request to restore a supplemental statutory retirement contribution, and early recruiting gains after the pay changes.
Committee members pressed Department of Justice and Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) leaders about recent pay changes, the statutory retirement contribution for troopers and recruitment outcomes.
Staff and the MHP colonel said the department used salary-survey results to give a 14% increase to troopers last July and is now asking for additional authority in HB 2 to stay competitive in higher‑cost markets. "We already gave a 14% pay increase to the troopers," a DOJ manager said when explaining the timeline. The salary‑survey results set an available adjustment but the department's executive management decides what to implement.
Senator McGillivray raised questions about DP 302 and the statutory retirement contribution that HB 569 removed last session. "Evidently HP 569 eliminated the statutory appropriation for the supplemental contribution ... You are asking for $2,000,000 general fund. My first question would be is this just a one-time ask or is this an ongoing ask," the senator said. DOJ staff replied the $2 million request would restore the statutory supplemental contribution on an ongoing basis.
Budget staff explained the employer contribution percentages and the gap created when HB 569 removed the supplemental 10.18% statutory general‑fund contribution. Walker told the committee the department is budgeting to a 28.15% employer contribution and the current actuarial rate is about 34.4% for fiscal year 2025; the lost 10.18% statutory piece is approximately a $2 million ongoing gap.
On recruiting, DOJ and MHP officials reported improved results after the pay adjustments: recruiting classes have grown and laterals (experienced officers who leave and later return) have increased. Colonel Kurt Sager told the committee the department implemented a cost‑of‑living stipend in three high‑cost areas last year and said it "helped significantly especially in Bozeman." He said the stipend sunsets in June and would require renegotiation through the bargaining process if continued.
Staff noted some of the funding requests in the highway patrol are contingent on legislation (a bill to reestablish the statutory contribution), and said the committee could provide general‑fund backup authority in HB 2 that would be removed if the separate bill passes.
