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Montana Highway Patrol asks Legislature for pay increases and retirement funding to stop trooper attrition
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Summary
Montana Highway Patrol leaders told the Section D subcommittee they need new funding to arrest a wave of trooper departures and retirements, requesting $7.2 million for a salary increase, $4 million for employer retirement contributions and authority for radio and equipment spending.
Montana Highway Patrol leaders told a Section D subcommittee hearing the agency is struggling with trooper vacancies and retirements and asked the Legislature for additional funding targeted at pay, retirement contributions and equipment to improve recruitment, retention and operational safety.
The request includes roughly $7.2 million to implement a pay increase for troopers (described by agency and DOJ officials as roughly a 14% base increase), about $4 million in general fund to cover employer retirement contributions that were affected by last sessionstatutory changes, payoff authority for a statewide radio loan and funding for body and in-car cameras, vehicle replacements and other operational needs.
The funding request matters because the patrol is a statewide traffic- and safety-focused law-enforcement agency that responds to crashes, interdicts drugs and supports other agencies; agency officials said staffing shortages affect coverage on major corridors and in both tourist and high-growth population areas.
Attorney General Austin Knudson and Colonel Kurt Seger (Colonel Seager in testimony; listed in transcript as Kurt Seger) described a recent wave of vacancies and retirements that left some detachments severely understrength. "The Montana highway patrol has been hemorrhaging troopers," Knudson said. He and the colonel said a mid-biennium $8,000 per-year raise the agency funded internally had "stopped the bleeding" but that a larger, legislatively authorized adjustment is needed to remain competitive with local sheriff and police starting salaries.
The patrol presented data to support the request: troopers drove 6.3 million miles last year, made nearly 10,000 public assists and investigated nearly 12,000 crashes; the agency also reported large increases in drug seizures, including a 119% increase in fentanyl pill dosage units between 2023 and 2024. Colonel Seager said the agency now staffs about 263 sworn positions when fully staffed, with 31 dispatch positions and a substantial professional-staff contingent; testimony also described vacancy rates that, at one point, reached 20% to 25% for field positions.
Key program and budget points:
- Pay and retention (DP 301): The patrol asked for $7.2 million (biennium) to implement the salary-survey-based increase; the request is tied to a statutory survey that compares entry-level law-enforcement pay across selected jurisdictions.
- Retirement employer contribution (DP 302): The agency described a roughly $4 million biennial need to cover employer contributions after changes to statutory appropriations in the prior session (House Bill 569). The department noted that House Bill 85 is pending and could restore the prior statutory appropriation.
- Radio network and equipment (DP 305 and others): The patrol sought authority to pay off a radio loan (roughly $10.8M reported in testimony) and asked for funding for in-car and body cameras and for radios and vehicle replacements. Some of these requests are contingent on a proposed increase in the luxury-vehicle tax (LC 449) that would route revenue into a patrol pay-and-retention account.
Support and internal reforms: Patrol leadership described administrative steps taken to reduce vacancies and improve working conditions: a large recruiting class (25 cadets, the largest since 1998), cost-of-living adjustments in high-cost detachments (Bozeman, Flathead), new canine instructors to reduce training travel, dispatch upgrades, new tasers, and plans for rifles with suppressors to protect trooper hearing.
Public testimony: Jessie Luther of the Association of Montana Troopers testified in support of the patrol budget and the pay and retirement requests. "Our number 1 priority for the association aligns directly with the attorney general's number 1 priority, and that is the increase in the trooper pay," Luther said.
Contingencies and questions: The patrol's larger funding items include measures contingent on other legislation (luxury-vehicle tax changes and retirement-bill fixes). Committee members asked the department for projections of revenue from LC 449, details on forfeiture proceeds that support operations, and breakdowns of prisoner-per-diem costs tied to extended holds; the patrol agreed to provide additional backup to the subcommittee.
Ending: Patrol leaders said the pay and retirement packages are the agency's highest priorities this session; the subcommittee asked for more revenue projections and cost detail before any executive action.