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Committee hears competing views on HB 173 to restore business restitution in youth court
Summary
Supporters say HB 173 restores a 1974-era youth-court definition so businesses and governments can be restitution recipients; opponents (ACLU, policy groups) argue the change would increase burdens on low-income youth and hamper rehabilitation.
Representative Neil Durham, the sponsor of House Bill 173, told the House Judiciary Committee the bill strikes the word "natural" from the Youth Courts Act victim definition to allow businesses, governments and corporations — as well as individuals — to be listed victims entitled to restitution. "We can call the cops, we can get him caught and identified," Durham said, describing vandalism of community baseball fields he said youth court could not remedy after the change last session.
The bill drew unified opposition from civil-rights and policy groups. Henry Seaton of the ACLU of Montana said HB 173 "is duplicative of existing law and has the possibility of increasing restitution…
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