Senate Judiciary reports several bills: SB 318, SB 348 and SB 398 advance; SB 389 and SB 421 tabled

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 5 took executive action on multiple bills after a morning of hearings.

SB 318 (child representation/guardian ad litem amendments) was amended on the floor of the committee and passed out of Senate Judiciary on a 5–3 roll-call vote after debate about who should serve as guardian ad litem and how to balance legal expertise with program capacity. Sponsor-supported technical amendments were adopted; opponents and some members warned about staffing constraints for attorney-only requirements.

SB 348, which revises penalties for a specified sexual-assault-related offense, passed out of committee 6–2. Proponents argued the bill better aligns punishment with harm and helps prosecutors; victim-advocacy organizations urged caution about plea impacts. The committee received clarifying testimony that the first offense remains a misdemeanor under the current draft and that second and subsequent offenses carry enhanced felony penalties.

SB 398, raising the municipal-court jurisdictional limit used for city abatement and related claims from $25,000 to $50,000, passed by voice vote. Billings Mayor Bill Cohen and city staff told the committee municipal courts handle abatement matters more quickly than district courts and that the change would speed cleanups of blighted properties in larger municipalities.

SB 389 (self-storage mitigation) resulted in a 4–4 tie on a do-pass motion and was not advanced; the sponsor later moved to table the bill. Testimony for and against the bill centered on whether existing landlord–tenant mitigation precedent should apply to self-storage and whether the bill would create unintended burdens on small landlords.

SB 421 (application fees) drew lengthy testimony from tenant advocates, student groups and housing organizations urging transparency and refunds when fees exceed out-of-pocket costs. Large landlord and property-management representatives argued the measure misplaces regulatory authority and could impose excessive compliance costs on small landlords. The committee voted 5–3 to table SB 421 for further work.

Next steps: Bills that passed out of committee advance to transmittal and the full Senate calendar. Tabled bills may be revived or revised after sponsor and stakeholder work.

Votes and actions at a glance (as recorded in committee): - SB 318 (as amended): passed out of committee 5–3 (roll call) - SB 348: passed out of committee 6–2 (roll call) - SB 398: passed out of committee (voice vote) - SB 389: do-pass motion tied 4–4 (failed); bill tabled - SB 421: motion to table passed 5–3 (bill tabled)

The committee also held hearings on HB 409 (injunction statute revisions), SB 352 (legislative staff privilege), SB 413 (criminalizing certain nonconsensual explicit synthetic media), and others during the session.

The committee scheduled further work and discussed an interim study on property managers and application-fee practices.