Bill would expand grants for pretrial monitoring in domestic-violence cases; advocates and county attorney back it, some senators press for safeguards

Senate Bill 280, sponsored by Senator Mike Yakawich, would revise domestic-violence intervention grant rules to permit the Board of Crime Control to fund community-based pretrial monitoring and compliance officers for offenders charged with specified partner- or family-member assault offenses. The sponsor said the program targets court-ordered monitoring for charged-but-not-convicted defendants and is intended to reduce jail populations and provide pathways to treatment and supervision.

"We're talking about grants...intentionally used to help offenders," Yakawich said in his opening, stressing that the money comes from a dedicated fund (marriage-license fees) and would be managed by the Montana Board of Crime Control. Proponents argued the approach balances community safety and fiscal responsibility: Patch Yawake, representing several tribal communities, urged support and cited monitoring research; Scott Twito, Yellowstone County Attorney, said the grants expand supervision tools (GPS exclusion zones and compliance officers) that his jurisdiction already uses and would help free jail space.

Committee members pressed for specifics. Senator Vinton questioned how ankle bracelets prevent return-to-victim incidents and whether alerts and local responders reach victims in time; Twito acknowledged monitoring is not perfect but said GPS exclusion alerts can immediately notify providers who then alert law enforcement and victims. Senators also asked whether the grants would fund offenders (rather than victims) and whether victims have a formal role in program oversight; Natalia Bowser of the Board of Crime Control said the statute is general but the program currently funds offender-focused pretrial monitoring and that victims are consulted in local jurisdictions, although the grant program itself does not build a formal victim-feedback mechanism.

Other technical questions addressed eligibility. The bill as written focuses on misdemeanors and requires a court order (release or sentencing order) before monitoring funds are used; committee members raised concerns about stretching the "charged" provision across lengthy pretrial periods or overlapping CPS cases. Senators requested a fiscal note; committee staff later confirmed a fiscal note of zero for SB 280.

The sponsor closed by reiterating the bill is a funding vehicle for existing pretrial monitoring practices and urged the committee to give it a due pass.

Next steps: hearing closed with committee discussion; no vote was taken on the bill during the hearing.