Bill > HB702

This bill makes several changes to Montana criminal law across multiple areas. First, it creates a new criminal offense of operating an unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) over a correctional institution, which carries a potential prison sentence of 1 to 5 years. Second, the bill modifies the law on assault with bodily fluid by increasing the maximum prison sentence from 1 year to 3 years and removes the option of county jail time. Third, it expands the existing law on transferring illegal articles to correctional institutions to now include both possessing and transferring such items, and provides a specific definition of "illegal articles" which now includes cellphones, tobacco, weapons, dangerous drugs, and other items prohibited by the correctional institution. Fourth, the bill makes a technical change to the definition of "persistent felony offender" by adding a provision related to the offender's status as an inmate at the time of the current crime. These changes aim to enhance security in correctional institutions, strengthen penalties for certain offenses, and provide more precise legal definitions for criminal proceedings.