NCJ Number
128712
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study examines issues in the applicability of Montana's Drake Amendment to local governments' construction of juvenile detention facilities.
Abstract
Montana's Drake Amendment provides that after July 1, 1979, any law that requires local government units to perform an activity or provide a service or facility and that would necessitate the direct expenditure of additional funds must provide a specific means to finance the activity or facility. The amendment also provides that such a law will not be effective until the legislature provides the means of financing. Other legislation requires that separate facilities must be provided for the detention of juveniles and that certain services must be made available to juveniles. The duty to provide the facilities falls on local governments. No means of financing the construction of the facilities has been provided by the legislature which raises questions regarding whether the Drake Amendment applies and whether the legislation can take effect without a means of financing being established by the legislature. State courts have not ruled on the applicability of the Drake Amendment; however, the language of the statute apparently applies to the financing of juvenile detention facilities. The legislature could wait for litigation to determine the applicability of the Drake Amendment, push back the date requiring local governments to comply with juvenile detention mandates, or conform with the Drake Amendment in providing a means of funding the juvenile detention facilities.