HELENA — Representative Ron Marshall, R-House District 87, on Thursday presented House Bill 50 to the Montana House Health and Human Services Committee, seeking to add parental protections to the state's Good Samaritan provisions and to revise the Help Save Lives from Overdose Act so parents and pregnant people who seek medical help during overdoses or prenatal care are protected from certain criminal charges and from having a positive drug test be used as the sole factor in child abuse and neglect investigations.

The bill’s sponsor said the measure is meant to remove a barrier that discourages people with substance use disorders from seeking medical care. “What this bill is…if you’re going in and you’re assisting somebody who is experiencing a medical emergency, overdose…basically you cannot be charged with a crime,” Representative Ron Marshall said during his opening remarks.

Proponents said the bill aims to reduce fear among pregnant and postpartum people that seeking care will automatically trigger custody actions or criminal consequences. Jean Branscum, chief executive officer of the Montana Medical Association, told the committee that fear of reporting and of losing custody discourages people from getting treatment and that research links punitive policies to lower rates of treatment and medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy. “The bill before you…does that in a well mannered way, and we would appreciate your support in that,” Branscum said.

Stacy Anderson, representing the Montana Primary Care Association and other health organizations, described a case she said illustrates the problem: a patient who disclosed past substance use and recovery at a scheduled delivery and was reported to Child Protective Services despite not testing positive. “They called CPS… it was just disclosing that indeed she had been…in recovery,” Anderson said, urging protections so disclosure and treatment are not penalized.

Several clinical organizations testified in support, including the Montana Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Montana Academy of Physician Assistants and the Montana Medical Association. Beth Brenneman of the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence said the bill would help survivors trust providers at vulnerable moments.

Committee members asked whether expanding protections into the postpartum period had been considered. Branscum recommended aligning any amendment with the 2023 expansion of Medicaid postpartum coverage and extending protections for up to one year after birth. “My suggestion is…postpartum up to 1 year after,” she said.

Committee members also asked how the bill would interact with federal reporting requirements. Nikki Grossberg, division administrator for CHOWN Family Services, described the reporting requirement under federal law and how local agencies use reports: “It is a requirement that they report a child who’s been born substance exposed. But that does not…automatically trigger an investigation,” she said, adding investigators consider the totality of information before deciding on intervention.

No one in the room testified in opposition. The committee did not take a final vote on HB 50; Representative Marshall closed by asking for a do pass recommendation and the committee chair said HB 50 may be considered for executive action the following day.

The bill would: add parental protections to the Good Samaritan language and to prenatal-care provisions in state law; clarify that a parent’s positive drug test may not be the sole factor used in child abuse and neglect investigations; and revise language in the Help Save Lives from Overdose Act. Specific statutory text and final scope depend on amendments the committee may adopt.

Next steps: The committee indicated it may consider executive action on HB 50 at its next meeting; no formal committee decision was recorded at Thursday’s hearing.