Committee moves to align elder‑abuse statutes into criminal code; prosecutors argue it will aid prosecutions

Representative Bill Mercer opened a hearing on House Bill 532, describing a multi-part statute to consolidate and move elder abuse, neglect and exploitation provisions into Title 45 (the criminal code). Prosecutors and law-enforcement witnesses said the current statutory placement scattered definitions across titles, making cases harder to investigate and prosecute; Mike Fanning, the state's elder-justice prosecutor, said moving the offenses into Title 45 "will be front and center to prosecutors and investigators who are tasked with pursuing those" and that the change corrects oversights where physical or sexual abuse of elders was previously not integrated into criminal statutes.

Supporters included Adult Protective Services, AARP Montana, tribal representatives and a number of county-level prosecutors and police officers who described difficulty locating and applying the existing statutes. Witnesses said the change would make definitions uniform across investigations and enable prosecutors to use existing criminal‑procedure tools, including specific hearsay exceptions that can be important when vulnerable victims die or cannot testify.

Brett Chandelson, director of the Office of State Public Defender, said his main concern was the expansion of hearsay exceptions and the confrontation right: he noted courts already have frameworks for admitting vulnerable-declarant statements and that any expansion should carefully preserve constitutional protections and judicial review. Committee members asked technical drafting questions (age thresholds, overlap with theft/identity statutes) and sponsors said they would work with staff to clarify language. The hearing closed without a committee vote in the transcript.

Outcome: hearing closed; sponsors signaled willingness to make technical edits and to coordinate with stakeholders on hearsay and age thresholds.