February 4, 2021
With a vote along party lines, SB 10 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday in what has been the shortest committee hearing on repealing the 1969 abortion ban so far.
The bill now heads to the Senate floor.
Six Democrats on the committee voted yes and the three Republicans voted no. Committee Chair Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, allowed each side 10 minutes for public comment and both the proponents of the bill and the opponents of the bill 10 minutes to give presentations. Cervantes said an email account had been published that allowed additional public comment and those emails had been shared with committee members. Discussion around the bill took about an hour.
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter (right) thanks Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls (left), for sponsoring Senate Bill 67, which would remove penalties for law enforcement failing to enforce local health directives, at a meeting of the Montana Senate Judiciary Committee January 13, 2021.
Montana lawmakers are bringing a slew of bills this session to modify the power of local health officers in a declared state of emergency, like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One bill introduced this week would remove legal penalties for law enforcement who refuse to enforce public health orders.
Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Great Falls, introduced a bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that would protect law enforcement officers from being charged with a misdemeanor if they fail to carry out a health officer’s request for assistance enforcing public health rules. Current law allows for that punishment.