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 lead to imprisonment for up to 20 years and similar fines.

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. 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.