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Senate committee approves DOJ bill to provide assistance to local law enforcement
Summary
House Bill 104 lets Department of Justice agents assist local sheriff's offices on human trafficking, drug and internet-crime investigations; proponents said it standardizes concurrent jurisdiction and helps rural agencies with limited resources.
Representative Eric Albus introduced House Bill 104 at the request of the Department of Justice. The bill would authorize DOJ agents to assist local law-enforcement agencies, provide personnel and equipment, and expand concurrent jurisdiction in areas including human trafficking, prostitution-related offenses and internet crimes against children.
DOJ and Division of Criminal Investigation witnesses told the committee the statute update would align practice with operational needs for real-time, technical investigations and would be particularly helpful to small or rural law-enforcement agencies that lack specialized resources. Stephen Crawford, bureau chief of the narcotics bureau at DCI, said DCI already operates regional drug task forces and human-trafficking investigators and that the bill formalizes the kind of concurrent jurisdiction and cooperation DCI provides.
Brian Cassidy (ICAC) and the Montana Police Protective Association also supported the bill, citing the bill’s utility for investigations that cross jurisdictions or require specialized forensic resources. Senator questions focused on the relationship of HB 104 to HB 82 (grooming/online exploitation) and whether the statutory changes overlap; staff reported no conflicts among the bills heard that day.
What’s next: The committee concurred in HB 104 by voice vote and reported the bill as passed from Senate Judiciary.
