Montana AG Opinions — 2001

Upon oral pronouncement of a sentence that transfers legal custody of an inmate to the Department of Corrections, the financial responsibility for the inmate also transfers to Corrections.

A sheriff may receive compensation from a federal agency under the terms of a cooperative law enforcement agreement where the services rendered by the sheriff fall outside of his or her "official duties" without violating any of Montana's statutory or constitutional provisions.

The owners of real property who may vote in the elections contemplated by SB 242 are those owners specifically listed within the definition of Mont. Code Ann. § 50-60-101(14) whose interests appear in the real property records in the office of the county clerk and recorder 30 days before the election. Municipal jurisdictional areas existing under Mont. Code Ann. § 50-60-101(11) prior to the effective date of SB 242 lose jurisdiction to enforce municipal building code provisions as of the effective date of the bill, but such jurisdiction may be revived if it is approved by the voters in the election required by section 8 of SB 242 prior to December 31, 2001.

The Montana Board of Crime Control may reimburse counties for detention costs for Indian youth placed in a regional youth detention facility pursuant to an order of a tribal court.

Withdrawn October 19, 2001. See 49 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 11

An airport authority commissioner may only be removed for cause during his or her term of appointment. "For cause" means some type of misconduct or neglect of duty. As long as commissioners are exercising powers authorized by law, they are not subject to removal during their term of office.

Absent the findings required by Mont. Code Ann. § 76-3-511(2), a local governing body must adopt subdivision regulations for water supply and sewage and solid waste disposal that are as stringent as the standards adopted by the Department of Environmental Quality under the Sanitation in Subdivisions Act. Mont. Code Ann. § 76-3-511 grants local governments the authority to incorporate by reference comparable state regulations or guidelines, but local governments retain discretion to determine the best method of adopting minimum requirements. Review of a proposed subdivision for compliance with local subdivision regulations must occur at the preliminary plat stage.

Telemarketers who are exempt from the registration and bonding requirements of the Montana Telemarketing Registration and Fraud Prevention Act are not exempt from other provisions of the Act.

The mill levy cap provided in Mont. Code Ann. § 15-10-420(1)(a) (2001), as amended by HB 124, is calculated with reference to the total property tax assessed in the previous year, and not by reference to the amount levied for any particular purpose in any prior year. Local governments may not derive “carry forward” authority under Mont. Code Ann. § 15-10-420(1)(b) (2001) based on the difference between the mill levy set in 2000 and the amount the local government would have been authorized to levy under Mont. Code Ann. § 15-10-420(1) (1999). The “carry forward” authority provided in Mont. Code Ann. § 15-10-420(1)(b) (2001), as amended by HB 124, will be available whenever the local government levies fewer mills than would be authorized to reach the mill levy cap provided in subsection (1)(a), and is measured by the difference between the number of mills actually levied and the number of mills the local government would have been allowed to levy to reach the cap. The “carry forward” mills may be levied in a future year and expended by the local government for any lawful purpose it chooses.

A local government may levy additional mills pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. § 15-10-420(1) (2001) sufficient to make up the difference between the amount reimbursed by the state for light vehicle fees and taxes pursuant to House Bill 124, section 1, and the amount of fees and taxes assessed by the local government for FY 2001.

A long-term lease with an option to purchase containing a provision allowing the City to terminate the agreement without penalty if the governing body of the City, in its sole discretion, fails to appropriate funds to make payments due under the lease in any fiscal year, does not create indebtedness of the City. A city may enter a long-term lease with an option to purchase containing a provision allowing the City to terminate the agreement without penalty if the governing body of the City, in its sole discretion, fails to appropriate funds to make payments due under the lease in any fiscal year without first putting the question to a vote of the people.

The Board of Investments may complete the payment of grants to the Montana University System from interest and income derived from the Montana Board of Science and Technology Development loans.

Occupational therapists are not authorized by Montana law to perform iontophoresis.