City attorney staff presented proposed ordinance language to the commission to remove the default criminal penalty from many sections of Helena's municipal code and replace it with a civil municipal-infraction enforcement regime. Matt Peterson, who led the presentation, said Billings, Bozeman and Missoula have adopted similar systems.

Peterson explained that where an ordinance currently lacks an explicit penalty, the default criminal penalty can be $500 and up to six months in jail. The proposed municipal-infraction approach would cap first-offense fines at $300 and second-offense fines at $500 and would remove jail as a penalty for most code infractions. He said a limited set of code provisions would remain criminal (for example, hazardous dumping into stormwater systems and underage alcohol events).

Commissioners asked how enforcement would operate if a person did not pay a municipal fine. Peterson said that civil collection and court processes could follow, and if a court later orders sanctions and those are not paid, jail could still be a downstream enforcement tool through the courts. An ADA committee representative praised the proposal, saying she was cautiously optimistic the change would better address enforcement violations that impact disabled community members.

No formal ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff presented the draft for review and anticipated returning with formal language for future consideration.