Montana legislation · 2025 Regular Session
Montana HB93: Establish compensation for wrongful conviction
Status: Failed, May 22, 2025
What the bill says
A bill for an act entitled: "an act providing compensation for people who have been wrongly convicted of felony crimes and exonerated; providing a procedure for filing and determining petitions for compensation; providing for an election of remedies; excluding compensation for conviction of a crime now legal; providing for expungement of conviction and the payment of damages for successful petitions; providing offsets for damages obtained in other litigation; providing for county and consolidated government contribution toward damages, costs, and attorney fees awarded…
From the engrossed text:
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING COMPENSATION FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WRONGLY CONVICTED OF FELONY CRIMES AND EXONERATED; PROVIDING A PROCEDURE FOR FILING AND DETERMINING PETITIONS FOR COMPENSATION; PROVIDING FOR AN ELECTION OF REMEDIES; EXCLUDING COMPENSATION FOR CONVICTION OF A CRIME NOW LEGAL; PROVIDING FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CONVICTION AND THE PAYMENT OF DAMAGES FOR SUCCESSFUL PETITIONS; PROVIDING OFFSETS FOR DAMAGES OBTAINED IN OTHER LITIGATION; PROVIDING FOR COUNTY AND CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TOWARD DAMAGES, COSTS, AND ATTORNEY FEES AWARDED; CREATING A STATE SPECIAL REVENUE ACCOUNT; PROVIDING A TRANSFER OF FUNDS; AMENDING SECTION 46-23-1041, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA: NEW SECTION. Section 1. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 8], the following definitions apply: (1) "Claimant" means a person who: (a) was convicted and subsequently imprisoned for one or more felony crimes that the person did not commit; (b) is not currently serving a term of imprisonment; and (c) meets the requirements of [section 2]. (2) "Date of exoneration DISPOSITION" means the date of dismissal of the criminal charges against the claimant or a finding of not guilty on retrial CONVICTION AGAINST THE CLAIMANT OR A FINDING OF NOT GUILTY ON RETRIAL OF A PRIOR CONVICTION. (3) "Imprisonment" means a term of confinement of at …