Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                             HB 111.1
                                                 HOUSE BILL NO. 111
                                            INTRODUCED BY J. ETCHART
                                 BY REQUEST OF THE STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER
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  A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING LAWS RELATED TO THE ASSIGNMENT OF PUBLIC
  DEFENDERS; AND AMENDING SECTION 47-1-104, MCA.”
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  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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             Section 1. Section 47-1-104, MCA, is amended to read:
             "47-1-104.   Statewide system -- structure and scope of services -- assignment of counsel at
  public expense. (1) There is a statewide public defender system, which is required to deliver public defender
  services in all courts in this state. The system is supervised by the director.
             (2)    The director shall approve a strategic plan for service delivery and divide the state into not
  more than 11 public defender regions. The director may establish a regional office to provide public defender
  services in each region, as provided in 47-1-215, establish a contracted services program to provide services in
  the region, or utilize other service delivery methods as appropriate and consistent with the purposes described
  in 47-1-102.
             (3)    When a court orders the assignment of a public defender, the appropriate office shall
  immediately assign a public defender qualified to provide the required services. The director shall establish
  protocols to ensure that the offices make appropriate assignments in a timely manner.
             (4)    A court may order assignment of a public defender under this chapter in the following cases:
             (a)    in cases in which a person is entitled to assistance of counsel at public expense because of
  financial inability to retain private counsel, subject to a determination of indigence pursuant to 47-1-111, as
  follows:
             (i)    for a person charged with a felony or charged with a misdemeanor for which there is a
  possibility of incarceration, as provided in 46-8-101;
             (ii)   for a party in a proceeding to determine parentage under the Uniform Parentage Act, as
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                               HB 111.1
  provided in 40-6-119;
          (iii) for a parent, guardian, or other person with physical or legal custody of a child or youth in any
  removal, placement, or termination proceeding pursuant 41-3-422 and as required under the federal Indian
  Child Welfare Act, as provided in 41-3-425 ;
          (iv)(iii) for an applicant for sentence review pursuant to Title 46, chapter 18, part 9;
          (v)(iv)   for a petitioner in a proceeding for postconviction relief, as provided in 46-21-201;
          (vi)(v)   for a petitioner in a habeas corpus proceeding pursuant to Title 46, chapter 22;
          (vii)(vi) for a parent or guardian in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a developmentally
  disabled person to a residential facility, as provided in 53-20-112; and
          (viii) for a respondent in a proceeding for involuntary commitment for a mental disorder, as provided in
  53-21-116 ;
          (ix) for a respondent in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a person for alcoholism, as
  provided in 53-24-302 ; and
          (x)(vii) for a witness in a criminal grand jury proceeding, as provided in 46-4-304. ;
          (b)       in cases in which a person is entitled by law to the assistance of counsel at public expense
  regardless of the person's financial ability to retain private counsel, as follows:
          (i)       as provided for in 41-3-425;
          (ii)      for a youth in a proceeding under the Montana Youth Court Act alleging a youth is delinquent
  or in need of intervention, as provided in 41-5-1413, and in a prosecution under the Extended Jurisdiction
  Prosecution Act, as provided in 41-5-1607;
          (iii)     for a juvenile entitled to assigned counsel in a proceeding under the Interstate Compact on
  Juveniles, as provided in 41-6-101;
          (iv)      for a minor who petitions for a waiver of parental consent requirements under the Parental
  Consent for Abortion Act of 2013, as provided in 50-20-509;
          (v)       for a respondent in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a developmentally disabled
  person to a residential facility, as provided in 53-20-112;
          (vi)      for a minor voluntarily committed to a mental health facility, as provided in 53-21-112;
          (vii)     for a person who is the subject of a petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator in
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                            HB 111.1
  a proceeding under the provisions of the Uniform Probate Code in Title 72, chapter 5;
          (viii)   for a ward when the ward's guardian has filed a petition to require medical treatment for a
  mental disorder of the ward, as provided in 72-5-322; and
          (ix)     for a parent, guardian, or other person with physical or legal custody of a child or youth in any
  removal, placement, or termination proceeding pursuant to 41-3-422 and as required under the federal Indian
  Child Welfare Act, as provided in 41-3-425;
          (x)      for a respondent in a proceeding for involuntary commitment for a mental disorder, as provided
  in 53-21-116; and
          (xi)     for a respondent in a proceeding for the involuntary commitment of a person for alcoholism, as
  provided in 53-24-302; and
          (c)      for an eligible appellant in an appeal of a proceeding listed in this subsection (4).
          (5)      (a) Except as provided in subsection (5)(b), a public defender may not be assigned to act as a
  court-appointed special advocate or guardian ad litem in a proceeding under the Montana Youth Court Act, Title
  41, chapter 5, or in an abuse and neglect proceeding under Title 41, chapter 3.
          (b)      A private attorney who is contracted with under the provisions of 47-1-121 to provide public
  defender services under this chapter may be appointed as a court-appointed special advocate or guardian ad
  litem in a proceeding described in subsection (5)(a) if the appointment is separate from the attorney's service
  for the statewide public defender system and does not result in a conflict of interest."
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          NEW SECTION. Section 2.         Notification to tribal governments. The secretary of state shall send a
  copy of [this act] to each federally recognized tribal government in Montana.
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                                                               -3-                      Authorized Print Version – HB 111
Statutes affected: 
HB0111_1.pdf: 47-1-104
HB0111_X.pdf: 47-1-104
Enrolled: 47-1-104
Introduced: 47-1-104