HELENA — Mugshots taken when a criminal is arrested in Montana would become public information under a bill sponsored by a Kalispell lawmaker and former chief of police.

Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, presented House Bill 236 to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning. Although law enforcement officials in the state typically release booking photos to the media, current state law includes “fingerprints and photographs” as confidential criminal justice information, a category of information exempt from public information laws.

Under Garner’s proposed amendment to the statute, that definition would be narrowed to include only “investigative or intelligence photographs” — including more sensitive photos, such as those taken at crime scenes — while adding booking photos to the legal definition of “public criminal justice information.”

“It was kind of a unique opportunity to try to help clarify release of information that is something both law enforcement and the press agree needs to be clarified,” Garner said of his bill.

No one spoke against the bill, but representatives from Montana’s newspaper, broadcasters and county attorneys associations praised the bill as one that would clarify the issue for both law enforcement and the press, and avoid more lawsuits over whether booking photographs are considered confidential.

Speaking for the Montana Association of Police Chiefs, lobbyist Mark Murphy said the state constitution’s protections for the public’s right to know and an individual’s right to privacy have been two of the most-litigated issues.

“Prosecution of crimes in Montana is the most accountable and the most transparent function provided by government at any level,” Murphy said. “The public’s right to know is substantially more important to the courts than the individual’s right to privacy.”

John MacDonald with the Montana Newspaper Association noted a recent court case in Park County in which a judge favored the release of a booking photo, ruling that it had “no evidentiary value” with regard to the suspect’s arrest.

His association conducted a recent survey of Montana’s county attorneys and sheriff’s offices, he said, which found that 80 percent of those surveyed already treat mugshots as public information.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.