Revise DUI laws related to enacting Bobby's law
HB 267 revises Montana’s driving under the influence laws and creates a new felony offense, aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence. The new crime applies when a person negligently causes another person’s death while driving in violation of the state’s DUI laws and aggravated DUI provisions. The bill sets a mandatory prison term of 3 to 30 years, a fine of $10,000 to $50,000, or both, and bars deferred imposition of sentence and suspension of the first three years of imprisonment except in limited circumstances.
The bill also updates several existing DUI-related sentencing and enforcement provisions. It amends sentencing rules to treat the new offense like other serious violent offenses for purposes of supervision limits, and it expands or clarifies penalties for DUI, aggravated DUI, repeat offenses, chemical dependency treatment, license revocation, and implied-consent testing. It also revises definitions in the facial recognition statute, but those changes appear to be technical and unrelated to the bill’s main DUI focus.
HB 267 amends multiple sections of the Montana Code Annotated, primarily in Title 61 governing motor vehicles and DUI offenses, and also makes a conforming change to Title 46 sentencing provisions and a definitions section in Title 44. Its main legal effect is to add a new felony homicide offense tied to intoxicated driving and to increase the severity and structure of penalties for certain DUI and aggravated DUI cases, including mandatory incarceration, treatment requirements, and license consequences. The bill affects criminal defendants, courts, prosecutors, the Department of Justice, the Department of Corrections, and drivers subject to DUI enforcement and implied-consent testing.
The bill appears to have broad legislative support overall, passing both chambers with large margins, including unanimous or near-unanimous committee votes in several stages. The caption referencing “Bobby’s law” suggests the measure was framed as a public-safety and victim-focused response to fatal impaired-driving crashes. The voting pattern indicates general agreement on strengthening DUI penalties and creating a specific homicide offense for intoxicated driving.
The main points of contention likely centered on the severity of the new felony penalty, the mandatory minimum prison term, and the limits on judicial discretion, including the prohibition on deferring sentence and restricting suspension of the first three years. More generally, DUI sentencing enhancements and expanded license and treatment consequences can raise concerns about proportionality, rehabilitation, and the scope of mandatory punishment. The committee and floor votes show some opposition, but not enough to prevent passage, suggesting disagreement was present but limited.