Senator Daniel Zolmecom, R., introduced Senate Bill 217 to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a measure that would allow people on probation or parole to earn one day off their supervision term for every 40 hours of documented employment.

Supporters told the committee the proposal is intended to encourage employment, reduce recidivism and free officers to focus on higher-risk supervisees. Jacob Dupuis, a visiting fellow with the Cicero Institute, said studies show employment correlates with lower reoffending and offered national examples where earned-time programs produced reduced revocations. Representatives of the Coalition for Safety and Justice and the Montana Innocence Project also testified in favor.

Dupuis told the committee that Montana’s Department of Corrections currently supervises more than 10,000 people and that projections anticipate roughly 12,000 people on supervision by 2027; he and other proponents said shortening supervision terms for compliant, employed people would allow officers to reallocate attention to higher-risk caseloads. Don Cape of the Coalition for Safety and Justice described employment as a key “stepping stone” for successful reentry and summarized the bill as “rewarding positive steps toward community involvement.” Amy Singh Timber of the Montana Innocence Project emphasized the program’s psychological benefits and encouraged the committee to pass the measure.

Kelson Young of the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence said the bill’s exclusion of people on misdemeanor probation appears appropriate because domestic violence often results in misdemeanor-level probation; she said the bill also appropriately excludes registered sex offenders and those subject to lifetime supervision.

Representatives from the Department of Corrections provided informational testimony about implementation. Eric Strauss, deputy director, and Seonode Del, probation and parole bureau chief, told the committee that the department initially expected a substantial fiscal and workload impact because staff do not currently verify employment hours in the level of detail the bill contemplates. Strauss said agency staff asked that any fiscal note be paused while the department and stakeholders consult other states that have implemented similar policies. Del said Arizona implemented a similar policy without a fiscal note and that Kentucky’s fiscal note referenced the need for two additional FTEs; Dupuis earlier cited an Arizona reduction in revocations and a Kentucky fiscal-note study but the committee heard that Montana’s operational picture may differ because corrections here does not now track hours in the proposed way.

Senator Zolmecom closed by reiterating that he views the measure as an incentive for redemption and employment and that committee discretion on drafting is appropriate. The committee later took executive action and moved the bill out of committee.

Votes at a glance: Senate Judiciary Committee — SB 217, motion to advance (do pass) adopted; committee record indicates the motion passed during executive action. (Detailed roll-call counts were not recorded in the hearing transcript.)