2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 2. Government Structure and Administration › Chapter 6. Public Records › Part 10. General Provisions › 2-6-1032. Requirements for compromise and settlement of claims against state

2-6-1032. Requirements for compromise and settlement of claims against state.
(1) The department shall create, monitor, maintain, and update, on an ongoing basis, a website that is available to the public and publishes the following information:
(a) the names of the parties settling claims with the state unless the right to individual privacy outweighs the public right to know;
(b) the date of each compromise or settlement of a claim against the state that results in monetary compensation;
(c) the identity of the entity of the state where the claim originated;
(d) the amount of monetary compensation contained in the compromise or settlement; and
(e) a brief description of the alleged conduct, acts, or omissions by one or more employees, officers, or agents of the state at issue in the case.
(2) If a member of the public requests a paper copy of information on the website or a paper copy of the quarterly report as provided in 2-6-1033, the department shall charge a fee for paper copies that is commensurate with the cost of printing.
(3) All information regarding the compromise or settlement of a claim involving a minor is exempted from disclosure under subsection (1).
(4) The information identified in subsection (1) must be published within 60 days of the date the compromise or settlement occurred.
(5) (a) Nondisclosure agreements are disfavored in compromise or settlement agreements when the state is a party and may be utilized only in the rare instance in which the right to individual privacy outweighs the public right to know.
(b) Nondisclosure agreements may not exempt the state from its reporting obligations in subsections (1)(b) through (1)(e), except in the rare instance in which:
(i) disclosure of information required to be reported by subsection (1)(c) or (1)(e) would lead to a violation of an individual's right to privacy; and
(ii) the right to privacy arising as a result of the claim outweighs the public right to know.
(c) No privacy interest may overcome the public right to know with respect to the duty to report the information in subsections (1)(b) and (1)(d).
(6) All money paid by the state pursuant to a settlement or compromise must be consistently coded in the statewide accounting, budgeting, and human resource system so that when the code or codes are reviewed a complete list of all settled claims is provided. The department shall set the standards for the coding.
(7) Among the records to be maintained when monetary compensation is utilized to settle or compromise claims are documents signed by an appropriate official, including:
(a) a statement that no condition or limitation precludes the use of the funds utilized to pay the settlement or other monetary compensation or damages;
(b) a detailed description of the alleged conduct, acts, or omissions by one or more employees, officers, or agents of the state, and the state's defenses, including legal and factual defenses at issue in the case; and
(c) the settlement terms.
(8) When a governmental entity provides monetary compensation other than money to resolve a claim, the governmental entity must evaluate the value conveyed pursuant to the settlement or compromise to determine whether it meets the $10,000 threshold requiring disclosure under this section.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 511, L. 2021.