Title 7, Title 7

No city, town, or village shall become the temporary or permanent county seat of any county organized under the provisions of part 22 or created by an act of the legislature unless such city or town shall have been incorporated in the manner provided by law or unless such village…

(1) In the event territory is taken from one county and added to another county, such plats and records covering such territory taken shall be transferred to the enlarged county. (2) If any portion of the cost of preparing such records, maps, plats, or charts remains unpaid, said…

The board of county commissioners must not set off or organize any new township unless a petition is presented to the board, signed by at least 50 citizens resident therein.

(1) New counties may be formed and created in this state from portions of one or more counties that must have been created and in existence for a period of more than 2 years, in the manner provided in this part. (2) Except as provided in Title 7, chapter 2, part 28, a county enla…

(1) A new county may not be established that reduces any county to an assessed valuation of less than $12 million, inclusive of all assessed valuation as shown by the last preceding assessment. (2) A new county may not be formed that contains an assessed valuation of property les…

For the purposes of this part, the assessed valuation of all property, whether included within the boundaries of a proposed new county or remaining within the boundaries of any existing county or counties from which territory is taken, shall be fixed and determined on the same ba…

(1) Whenever it is desired to divide any county or counties and form a new county out of a portion of the territory of the then-existing county or counties, a petition shall be presented to the board of county commissioners of the county from which the new county is to be formed,…

(1) A petition or petitions for creation of a new county must contain: (a) a legal description of the territory proposed to be taken from the county in which the petition is circulated; (b) a general map, on a separate page or pages, that with shaded areas or darkened boundary li…

(1) There must be attached and filed with each sheet or section of the petition or petitions an affidavit of the person who circulated the petition, stating that it is the person's belief that: (a) it is signed by at least 50% of the qualified electors, as provided in this part, …

(1) A board of county commissioners receiving a petition pursuant to 7-2-2205 shall be empowered and have jurisdiction to do and perform all acts provided for in this part for each of the several counties from which any proposed territory is to be taken and shall direct that a ce…

(1) Upon the filing of the petition and affidavit with the clerk of the board of county commissioners, the clerk shall fix a date to hear the petition and any opponents to the petition. The date must be not later than 30 days after the filing of the petition with the clerk of the…

(1) At the time fixed for the hearing, the board of county commissioners shall hear the petitioners and any opponents and protestants upon the petition or protests filed on or before the time fixed for the hearing. The board may adjourn the hearing from time to time, but not for …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3), on final hearing, the board of commissioners, upon petition of not less than 50% of the registered electors (as shown by the official registration records on the day of the filing of the petition) of any territory lying within the propose…

The board of county commissioners, on the final hearing of the petition or petitions, shall, by a resolution entered on its minutes, determine: (1) the boundaries of the proposed new county, and the boundaries determined by the board must be the boundaries of the proposed new cou…

(1) Within 2 weeks after the determination that the signatures on the petition are valid and sufficient, the board of county commissioners shall order and give notice of an election to be held for the purpose of determining whether the territory proposed to be taken from the coun…

The board of county commissioners of the county in which the petition was filed shall also, if necessary for the purpose of the election provided for in 7-2-2215(1), change the boundaries of the election precincts in the old county to make the same conform to the boundaries of th…

The board of county commissioners of the county concerned shall appoint election judges to act at the election provided for in 7-2-2215(1) or 7-2-2215(4) and to be paid by the board.

(1) If the proposed new county is to be formed from one county or from portions of two or more existing counties, the ballot must be in the following form: (a) notice required by 7-2-2215 must require the electors to cast ballots that contain the words "For the new county of.... …

The expense of said election shall be paid by the county calling such election, and any other county affected thereby shall pay its proportion thereof as provided in 7-2-2244.

(1) If the proposed new county is to be formed from one county or from portions of two or more existing counties, the question of the election of the county seat is hereby provided to be submitted to the qualified electors of the proposed new county at the election provided for i…

(1) If, upon the canvass of the votes cast at the election, it appears that more than 50% of the votes cast by those voting in an election under 7-2-2215(1) in the county, by those voting in the same election in the territory proposed to be taken from the county, and by those vot…

(1) The board of county commissioners shall immediately file a copy of its resolution, authorized by 7-2-2222(1) and certified, together with a legal description of the new boundaries of each affected county, in the office of the secretary of state. Ninety days after the date of …

If the new county has a new county seat under 7-2-2221, the board of county commissioners of the new county may provide a suitable place for the county officers and purchase supplies necessary for the proper conduct of the county government.

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (4), at the election provided for in 7-2-2215, there must be chosen a board of county commissioners and other county and district officers as are provided by law. (2) All elected, qualified, and acting officers of the county or co…

All the officers elected at said election or appointed under this part shall hold their offices until the time provided by general law for the election and qualification of such officers in this state and until their successors are elected and qualified. For the purpose of determ…

(1) Each person elected or appointed to fill an office of a new county under the provisions of this part shall qualify in the manner provided by law for that officer, except as otherwise provided in this part, and shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of the office within …

A new county, when created and organized pursuant to this part, must be attached to the judicial district designated by the governor in a proclamation designating the new county as attached to the particular judicial district for judicial purposes.

(1) It shall be the duty of the persons elected to or continuing to hold the office of county commissioner of said new county to meet at the county seat thereof within 5 days after all of them shall have qualified, and upon organization of said board of county commissioners, it s…

(1) The commissioners provided for in 7-2-2241 shall, within 10 days after the notice of the appointment, meet at the county seat of the new county and organize by electing from their number a presiding officer and also by electing a secretary, who may not be a member of the comm…

Members of the board of commissioners provided for under 7-2-2241 shall receive a compensation of not to exceed $25 per day for every day they are actually employed under the provisions of this part. All of which expenses, together with the reasonable expenses of stationery, post…

(1) (a) Said board of commissioners shall, immediately after its organization: (i) ascertain the costs of the election held hereunder and apportion the same pro rata among each of the counties from which territory was taken to form such new county; (ii) ascertain the indebtedness…

Said board of commissioners shall certify forthwith to the board of county commissioners of the new county and the old counties thereby affected the amount constituting the due proportion of said excess payable by such new county to each of them and also the value of any property…

(1) The sum of said ascertained value of the property referred to in 7-2-2245 added to the ascertained proportion of the excess referred to in 7-2-2245 which the new county is to pay the old county and its proportion of the expense of said election, as aforesaid, shall be an inde…

Delinquent taxes due the old county against property situated in the new county shall be transcribed in and collected by the new county.

(1) After the creation of a new county, its officers shall complete all proceedings necessary for the assessment or collection of the state and county taxes for the then-current year. (2) (a) All acts and steps taken by the officers of the old county or counties prior to the crea…

(1) The county superintendent of schools of an old county shall furnish the county superintendent of schools of the new county with a certification of the average number belonging (ANB) in the different school districts in the territory set apart to form the new county and shall …

(1) The board of county commissioners of any new county must provide suitable books and have transcribed from the records of the old county or counties all such parts thereof as relate to or affect property situated in the new county or the title thereof. (2) All chattel mortgage…

(1) The files of all actions in the office of the clerk of the district court of the old county, whether reduced to judgment or pending, for the recovery of the possession of, quieting the title to, or the enforcement of liens upon real estate lying wholly in the new county or an…

(1) Any new county shall be entitled to all records, maps, plats, and charts of any old county, any part of whose territory is included in such new county, which records, maps, plats, or charts relate to the classification of lands for taxation purposes and apply exclusively to t…

(1) Any county or counties of Montana that shall be formed from portions of another county shall be entitled to have the county records affecting or relating to any and all property situated in the segregated county transcribed from the books of the original county and made a par…

Said county commissioners shall have full power and authority to contract for transcribing the records relating to all property situated within the boundaries of the segregated county, and for that purpose the person or persons engaged in the work of transcribing such records sha…

Payment for transcribing such records shall be made by the county contracting therefor and by a warrant or warrants payable out of the general fund of such county.

(1) When the transcript of the records provided for in this part are completed and approved by the county commissioners of the county, they must be delivered to the county clerk and recorder of the county from which the records were taken. It is the duty of the county clerk and r…

All records so transcribed, when certified to as being full, complete, and correct, shall be delivered to the county clerk and recorder of the segregated county, shall be filed in the office of the county clerk and recorder of such segregated county, and shall thereupon become an…

A certified copy of the records so transcribed and filed in the office of the county clerk and recorder of any segregated county may be introduced in evidence and shall have the same force and effect as certified copies of original records.

(1) In all counties created out of any other county or where the county boundary has been changed as provided in Title 7, chapter 2, part 28, and wherever there has been an action or proceeding begun affecting any real property situated within the new county or the county to whic…