Legislative committee guts 'Sheriffs First' bill

Legislative committee guts 'Sheriffs First' bill

MATT VOLZ, Associated Press

HELENA — A legislative committee passed a bill Wednesday that had aimed to make sheriffs the supreme authority in Montana, but first gutted it of a key provision requiring federal officials to obtain permission before conducting any law-enforcement action.

The stripped-down measure, dubbed the "Sheriffs First" bill, now heads to the full Senate.

The original Senate Bill 114 sponsored by Republican Sen. Greg Hinkle of Thompson Falls would have required federal law-enforcement officers to receive written permission...