Representative Eric Albus introduced House Bill 104, a Department of Justice request bill to clarify that the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has concurrent jurisdiction in certain serious investigations including human trafficking, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) matters and related offenses.

Attorney General Austin Knudson said the measure largely codifies current operational practice and would remove ambiguity in statute so DCI agents can more readily assist local agencies in complex, cross-jurisdictional cases. "This is really what we're doing already; we just want to clarify in statute that our DCI agents have the ability and concurrent jurisdiction with the locals," Knudson said.

DCI supervisors and unit leads told the committee that concurrent jurisdiction would enhance resource allocation, specialist expertise, cross-jurisdiction coordination and victim-centered services in investigations that often cross county or state lines. Andrew Yedinak, supervisor of the DCI human trafficking unit, said the change would reduce operational friction in rapid online advertising investigations where the victim and suspect may be in different jurisdictions and immediate action is sometimes needed.

Supporters included DCI leadership, the Montana Police Protective Association, and the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. Representative Albus said he had cleared the bill with two county sheriffs who supported it.

The hearing in the transcript shows proponents and no opponents on the recorded excerpt; the sponsor urged committee support. No committee vote is recorded in the available transcript.