Title 85, Title 85

(1) To request a preliminary survey for a proposed conservancy district, the applicants shall present a written petition to the department. (2) The petition shall: (a) be signed by at least 10% of the registered voters residing within the boundaries of the proposed conservancy di…

(1) Within 11 days after the request is received, the department shall acknowledge the request. (2) The department shall itself, through cooperating agencies, or together with cooperating agencies: (a) consult with the board of supervisors and all persons who may participate in t…

(1) On receipt of the preliminary survey report, the applicants or any one of them may request the department to hold a hearing. The department shall provide notice as required in 7-1-2121 and then hold the hearing no later than than 61 days after receipt of the request. (2) If t…

After the hearing, the applicants or any one of them may request the department to prepare a detailed feasibility study of the proposed district. If the department concludes that the proposed district is feasible, desirable, and consistent with the state water plan, it shall prep…

If in the opinion of the department the feasibility study shows that a district is feasible and consistent with the state water plan, the procedure for organization is the following: (1) The department shall file a petition requesting organization with the court. (2) The petition…

(1) On receipt of a petition for organizing a district, the court shall give notice and hold a hearing on the petition. If the court finds that the petition should be granted, it shall: (a) make and file findings of fact specifying those lands that will be directly or indirectly …

A district is a public corporation and a political subdivision of the state.

Sooner than 31 days after the district has been decreed organized, the clerk of the court shall transmit to the secretary of state, the department, and to the county clerk and recorder in each of the counties having lands in the district copies of the election results, the decree…

If organized, the district shall reimburse the county or counties for the expenses incurred in the organizing election. The costs of conducting the preliminary and feasibility studies shall be considered costs of construction of an approved project and shall be included in determ…

(1) The procedure for dissolution of a district is: (a) a resolution shall be passed by the directors requesting dissolution; (b) a petition signed by 20% of the electors representing 10% of the taxable valuation of real property in the district shall be presented to the director…

(1) After receipt of petition or resolution for dissolution, the court shall order an election to be conducted in accordance with Title 13, chapter 1, part 5. (2) For dissolution to be approved, a majority of the electors voting must favor dissolution.

(1) In the event the vote is for dissolution, any qualified elector or the board of directors of the district may, within the time fixed by the court, present a written plan for terminating the affairs of the district which shall include assignment of any water rights and works o…

(1) If a plan is not presented on or before the date set by the court, the court shall appoint a receiver to terminate the affairs of the district under the supervision of the court. (2) Upon the appointment of a receiver, all authority of the directors ceases. However, until dis…

(1) The court shall enter an order dissolving the district when it appears to the satisfaction of the court that: (a) all obligations of the district have been discharged; (b) all the costs of termination have been paid. (2) A certified copy of the order shall be recorded by the …

All funds remaining after dissolution of a district shall be deposited in the general fund of the counties in which the district is located in proportion to the taxable value of property within the district in each county.

If a district is organized, the court shall: (1) establish by court order the number of persons who shall comprise the directors and appoint persons who are electors within the district to membership on the board of directors and fix their compensation. The number may not be less…

(1) The directors shall select from among themselves a presiding officer, vice presiding officer, secretary, and other necessary officers. The directors shall adopt bylaws and rules for the conduct of meetings. All official acts of the directors must be entered in a book of minut…

On behalf of the district, the directors may: (1) adopt an official seal; (2) sue and be sued; (3) provide for reimbursing of their members for actual expenses; (4) merge with other special districts as hereinafter provided; (5) call upon the county attorney or attorney general f…

On behalf of the district, the directors may adopt rules to promote and encourage water recreation, including requirements concerning public access areas and facilities, and rules respecting the use of reservoirs and waters, picnic sites, and other recreational areas operated by …

On behalf of the district, the directors may: (1) enter private property for the purposes of making surveys, provided that just compensation for actual damages is made; (2) appropriate water and initiate or participate in the adjudication of streams; (3) acquire, undertake, const…

On behalf of the district, the directors may: (1) borrow money and incur indebtedness and issue bonds to finance works as provided by this chapter; (2) in addition to all voted indebtedness, borrow money as necessary, but the amount may not at any one time exceed 0.23% of the tot…

On behalf of the district, the directors may: (1) fix and revise, from time to time, and collect rates, fees, and other charges for the services, facilities, or water furnished by the district to any person; (2) withhold the delivery of water upon which there are any defaults or …

On behalf of the district, the directors may: (1) contract for service, for water furnished, or for the sale of water with any person; (2) cooperate with; accept grants, loans, and other assistance from; act as agent for; and enter into agreements with any and all state or federa…

A district organized under this chapter, by itself or in conjunction with others as a sponsoring organization, may participate in all federal programs, including but not limited to the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 666), the federal Water Project…

The district may exercise the right of eminent domain, as provided in Title 70, chapter 30, when the taking is necessary for the purposes of the district. Water rights are not subject to taking but may be taken as an incident to the condemnation of land to which the water rights …

Before August 1 of each year, the directors shall send a written report of their activities during the previous fiscal year to the court and to the department. Reports shall be in the form and contain the information prescribed by the department.

(1) Only persons who are taxpayers upon and owners of real property located within the district and whose names appear upon the last-completed assessment roll of some county within the district for state, county, and school district taxes are electors and are entitled to vote in …

(1) In case two or more districts have been organized in a territory that, in the opinion of the directors of each of the districts, should constitute but one district, the directors of the districts may petition the court for an order merging the districts into a single district…

(1) To annex real property to the district, the procedure is as follows: (a) The directors shall petition the court. (b) The petition must: (i) give a general description of the real property to be annexed sufficient to enable a person to determine if the person's property is in …

Real property annexed to a district shall not incur any liens by reason of bonds issued before annexation unless agreed to by the owners of the annexed property, in writing, prior to annexation.

Any territory included within a district formed under the provisions of this chapter and not benefited in any manner by the district or its inclusion in the district may be excluded from the district. The procedure for exclusion consists of the following: (1) A petition for exclu…

(1) To the extent that anticipated revenues from rates, fees, and other charges fixed pursuant to 85-9-407(1) will not be sufficient to meet the district's anticipated obligations for annual operation, maintenance, and replacement or depreciation of works or for payment of the in…

(1) The directors shall, prior to the first Monday in May of each year, give notice in accordance with 7-1-2121 of the intention to hold a public budget hearing. The notice shall include the date, time, place, and general agenda. (2) At the hearing, the directors shall: (a) revie…

(1) Before the first Monday in August of each year, the directors shall provide the department of revenue and the county treasurer with: (a) the budget for the current fiscal year; (b) a statement of the amount of special assessments to be collected for the districts; and (c) a l…

(1) The treasurer of each county in which the district is located shall collect special assessments at the same time and in the same way as county taxes. (2) If the district is located in more than one county, all assessments collected must be deposited with the treasurer of the …

A district may issue bonds payable from revenues, assessments, or both, or the district may use other financing as provided by this chapter for the cost of works. Bonds issued shall be for a maximum term of not to exceed 40 years. Bonds for more than one purpose may be sold as a …

In determining the amount of bonds to be issued, the directors may include: (1) all costs of works; (2) all costs and estimated costs of issuance of the bonds; (3) interest which they estimate will accrue on money borrowed during the construction period and for 6 months after the…

When the directors find it necessary to issue bonds, the directors shall: (1) pass a resolution that includes: (a) the purpose or purposes for which the bonds will be issued; (b) the maximum amount and term of the bonds; (c) the maximum interest rate that the bonds will bear; and…

(1) For a bond issue to be approved, 40% of the qualified electors must vote thereon and 60% of those voting must approve the issue. (2) Approval of the bond issue shall authorize the directors to make assessments necessary to pay the principal and interest on bonds issued, as pr…

(1) If a bond issue is approved, the directors shall by resolution provide for the form and execution of the bonds and for issuance of all or any part of the bonds. The bonds may be sold at public or private sale as determined by the directors pursuant to 17-5-107. If the directo…

Bonds issued under this chapter have the same force, value, and use as bonds issued by a municipality and are exempt from taxation as property within the state of Montana.

Pending preparation of the bonds sold under this chapter, receipts or certificates may be issued to purchasers in the form and with provisions as determined by the directors. Bonds and interim receipts or certificates are fully negotiable as provided by the Uniform Commercial Cod…

(1) When duly executed, all bonds issued under this chapter must be registered by the county treasurer of the county in which the largest portion of the taxable valuation of real property of the district is located. The bonds must be registered in a book provided for that purpose…

(1) Proceeds from the sales of bonds must be deposited with the county in which the largest portion of the taxable valuation of real property of the district is located. (2) The county treasurer shall place the proceeds of the bond sale to the credit of the district. The proceeds…

(1) Refunding bonds may be issued in the same way as any other bonds authorized by this chapter. (2) All bonds, original issue or refunding issue, shall be redeemable when one-half of the term or 10 years of the term for which they were issued, whichever may be the less, has expi…

Revenue, assessment, and other funds on hand, including reserves pledged for the payment and security of outstanding bonds, may be deposited in a fund created for the retirement of bonds and may be invested and disbursed as provided by this chapter, to the extent consistent with …