# Montana HB 344: Revise criminal laws. Montana HB 344, Revise criminal laws., is a 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) House bill sponsored by Braxton Mitchell (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-05 (Chapter Number Assigned); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB344-2025 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Montana HB 344 - State: Montana - Session: 69th Legislature, Regular Session (2025) - Title: Revise criminal laws. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-29 - Last action: 2025-05-05, Chapter Number Assigned - Sponsor: Braxton Mitchell (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Crimes, Alcohol - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 6 (362 yes, 135 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Tough CDL penalties for alcohol: cost, high. If you drive a commercial vehicle with an alcohol level of 0.04% or higher, your commercial license is suspended. A first violation is usually a 1‑year suspension, or 3 years if you were hauling placardable hazardous materials. A second or later violation brings a lifetime disqualification, subject… - Harsher repeat DUI rules and evidence: cost, high. A fourth or later DUI that meets the law’s rules is a felony with a $5,000–$10,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison or a department placement. Courts cannot defer imposing a sentence for these DUI crimes. The law clarifies the meaning of “drug” and “under the influence,” and it includes certain vio… - Mandatory DUI treatment and costs: cost, medium. After any DUI or a similar offense, you must complete a chemical‑dependency assessment. For a first DUI, you must take an education course unless the court orders treatment instead. A judge can require the assessment before sentencing. Assessments and treatment must be from state‑approved programs… - More priors count toward DUI sentencing: cost, low. Courts count more past offenses when setting DUI penalties. A prior conviction usually counts if it is less than 10 years old, but for a third or later DUI, all past convictions count no matter how old. The law includes final convictions from other states or tribal courts and some forfeitures. Some… - Stricter license rules after DUI: mixed, medium. If you drive while your license is suspended for a DUI or a test refusal, you face 2 days to 6 months in jail, a fine up to $2,000, and up to 40 hours of community service. Your suspension is also extended by one year for a noncommercial license. People suspended or revoked for listed DUI offenses… - How DUI jail time is served: mixed, low. A judge can order you to serve a DUI sentence in a county facility or a prerelease center. If you are able to pay, you must cover the facility’s costs. The court may also let you serve some DUI jail time on home arrest, when the law’s minimum custody rules allow it. - Yearlong monitoring and court oversight: mixed, low. For a second or later DUI, you must be monitored monthly for at least one year after you enter treatment. Counselors must tell the court when you start and if you miss classes or treatment. If you break monitoring rules, the judge must revoke any suspended sentence and can add up to one more year o… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Braxton Mitchell (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Steve Fitzpatrick (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-15 | House | Do Concur | pass | 68 | 29 | | | 2025-04-14 | House | Do Concur | pass | 95 | 5 | | | 2025-04-02 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 36 | 14 | | | 2025-04-01 | Senate | Do Concur | pass | 34 | 16 | | | 2025-02-19 | House | Do Pass | pass | 62 | 38 | | | 2025-02-18 | House | Do Pass | pass | 67 | 33 | | ## Actions (35) - 2025-05-05: Chapter Number Assigned (House) - 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-04-22: Transmitted to Governor (House) - 2025-04-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-04-18: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-04-15: Returned from Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-15: Sent to Enrolling (House) - 2025-04-15: 3rd Reading Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-14: 2nd Reading Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-02: Returned to House with Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-02: 3rd Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-01: 2nd Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Committee Report (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Committee Executive Action (Senate) - 2025-03-18: Hearing (Senate) - 2025-03-01: Referred to Committee (Senate) - 2025-02-20: 1st Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-19: Transmitted to Senate (House) - 2025-02-19: 3rd Reading (House) - 2025-02-18: 2nd Reading (House) - 2025-02-18: Revised Fiscal Note Printed (House) - 2025-02-18: Revised Fiscal Note Signed (House) - 2025-02-17: Revised Fiscal Note Received (House) - 2025-02-13: Revised Fiscal Note Requested (House) - 2025-02-12: Committee Report (House) - 2025-02-12: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-02-12: Committee Executive Action (House) - 2025-02-10: Fiscal Note Printed (House) - 2025-02-07: Fiscal Note Signed (House) - 2025-02-07: Fiscal Note Received (House) - 2025-02-04: Hearing (House) - 2025-01-30: 1st Reading (House) - 2025-01-30: Referred to Committee (House) - 2025-01-29: Fiscal Note Requested (House) - 2025-01-29: Introduced (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=3c6e2b77-c203-4060-83d7-3fae8d5d9b12) - As Amended (Version 3), 2025-03-25: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=b7202337-dc36-45cb-b0b4-fdde2ba5701a) - As Amended (Version 2), 2025-02-12: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2b87683d-14bd-4158-bcd9-14fe7c352b21) - Introduced, 2025-01-29: [PDF](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=dc2171d3-502f-45af-9863-f0c47af1b42c) ## Related bills - SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law (signed) - HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit (vetoed) - HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws (vetoed) - SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act (vetoed) - SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer (vetoed) - SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program (vetoed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=3c6e2b77-c203-4060-83d7-3fae8d5d9b12) - [As Amended (Version 3) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=b7202337-dc36-45cb-b0b4-fdde2ba5701a) - [As Amended (Version 2) (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=2b87683d-14bd-4158-bcd9-14fe7c352b21) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://docs.legmt.gov/download-ticket?ticketId=dc2171d3-502f-45af-9863-f0c47af1b42c) ## Related - [SB 437: Revise definition of sex in Montana law](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB437-2025) - [HB 831: Increase elderly homeowner and renter income tax credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB831-2025) - [HB 628: Revise early literacy targeted intervention laws](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB628-2025) - [SB 410: Provide for Montana genomic security act](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB410-2025) - [SB 422: Generally revise laws relating to insurance coverage relating to cancer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB422-2025) - [SB 424: Revising the disabled veteran property tax assistance program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-SB424-2025) - [Montana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana/bills) - [Montana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/montana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MT-HB344-2025 (as of 2026-10-12).