House Bill No. introduced by G. Parry establishes a new crime specifically targeting assaults on employees of public utilities in Montana. The bill defines the offense of assault on a public utility employee, which includes causing bodily injury, creating reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury using a weapon or an object that appears to be a weapon, and causing serious bodily injury. The penalties for these offenses vary, with a maximum imprisonment of 10 years and fines up to $50,000 for certain types of assault, while more severe cases could result in up to 20 years of imprisonment and the same maximum fine.

Additionally, the bill includes a codification instruction indicating that the new section will be integrated into Title 45, chapter 5, part 2 of the Montana Code Annotated. This integration ensures that the provisions related to the assault on public utility employees will be treated as part of the existing legal framework governing assault offenses in the state.