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Committee concurs with 'Bobby's Law' to add mandatory minimum for aggravated DUI homicide
Summary
Senate Finance and Claims concurred with House Bill 267 ("Bobby's Law"), which creates a three‑year mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide involving a blood‑alcohol content of 0.16 or higher when the offense causes death; DOT and law‑enforcement groups supported the bill and family testimony highlighted fatality statistics.
The Senate Finance and Claims Committee concurred with House Bill 267, commonly referred to in testimony as "Bobby's Law," to impose a three‑year mandatory minimum for aggravated vehicular homicide when a driver operating at or above 0.16 blood alcohol concentration causes a death.
Representative Braxton Mitchell, the bill sponsor, framed the proposal as a response to instances where drivers who killed others while highly intoxicated received sentences the sponsor regarded as insufficient. Chris Storington, director of the Department of Transportation, and representatives of sheriffs and prosecutors supported the bill and said stronger penalties are one element of a broader prevention strategy that includes engineering, education and enforcement.
Beth McBride, who testified as the mother of a victim, cited Montana Highway Patrol and DOT statistics: she said 118 fatalities in 2023 and that 57% of those deaths were DUI‑related; she further cited DOT figures that 72% of DUI fatalities involved a blood alcohol of 0.16 or higher, and used those numbers to illustrate the human and fiscal costs to families and the state.
The sponsor acknowledged modest incarceration costs associated with the bill. Agencies and advocates said the measure is common in other states. The committee concurred in executive action and the bill will advance to the Senate floor.
Outcome: Concurred in Senate Finance and Claims.
