Sections
Part 1 Local Government Ordinances, Resolutions, and Initiatives and Referendums § 7-5-101 – § 7-5-140
Part 2 Operation of Consolidated Units of Local Government § 7-5-201
Part 21 Conduct of County Government § 7-5-2101 – § 7-5-2150
Part 23 County Contracts § 7-5-2301 – § 7-5-2316
Part 25 Vacation of Plats § 7-5-2501 – § 7-5-2504
Part 41 Conduct of Municipal Government § 7-5-4101 – § 7-5-4142
Part 42 Municipal Ordinances and Resolutions § 7-5-4201 – § 7-5-4225
Part 43 Municipal Contracts and Franchises § 7-5-4301 – § 7-5-4322
Part 44 Municipal Elections § 7-5-4401 – § 7-5-4410

Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 7 > Chapter 5 - General Operation and Conduct of Business

  • account: means an account established for the payment of qualified health care expenses under the plan. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
  • Advisory committee: means a committee created by the department under authority of 80-11-510 for the purpose of advising the department on the implementation and administration of a commodity research and market development program established in 80-11-512. See Montana Code 80-11-503
  • Advisory council: means the Montana noxious weed management advisory council. See Montana Code 80-7-903
  • Advisory council: means the state employee group benefits advisory council provided for in 2-15-1016. See Montana Code 2-18-809
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • Agency: has the meaning provided in 2-18-101 but does not include the Montana university system. See Montana Code 2-18-1202
  • Agricultural production: means the production of:

    (a)any growing grass, crops, or trees attached to the surface of the land; or

    (b)farm animals with commercial value. See Montana Code 76-15-903

  • Alternative control program: means a system of controlling insect pest populations through biological or other means not involving toxic chemicals. See Montana Code 80-7-501
  • Alternative practices: means forest practices that are:

    (a)conducted in the streamside management zone and that are different from practices required by rules adopted under this part;

    (b)designed for site-specific conditions encountered during a timber sale; and

    (c)subject to department approval under 77-5-303. See Montana Code 77-5-302

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Animals: means livestock, dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents, game animals, fur-bearing and wild animals, and poultry and other birds. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Applicant: means a person who seeks a land use permit or other approval of a development proposal. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Authority: means the department of agriculture provided for in 2-15-3001. See Montana Code 80-12-102
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Biologics: means medicinal preparations made from living organisms and their products. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Board: means the board of livestock provided for in 2-15-3102. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Bonds: means bonds or bond anticipation notes issued by the authority under the provisions of this chapter. See Montana Code 80-12-102
  • Built environment: means man-made or modified structures that provide people with living, working, and recreational spaces. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • candling: as used in this part means the careful examination, in a partially dark room or place, of the whole egg by means of a strong light. See Montana Code 81-20-203
  • cattle: as used in this part is considered to mean "sheep". See Montana Code 81-6-101
  • Certificate of survey: means a drawing of a field survey prepared by a registered surveyor for the purpose of disclosing facts pertaining to boundary locations. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Certification: means the state-approved and documented process of determining within a standard range of variances or tolerances that forage production fields are free of the seeds of noxious weeds, as defined in 7-22-2101, which process allows a person to sell the forage as noxious weed seed free and to attach approved certification identification. See Montana Code 80-7-903
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • chief executive: means the elected executive in a government adopting the commission-manager form, the presiding officer in a government adopting the commission-presiding officer form, the town presiding officer in a government adopting the town meeting form, the commission acting as a body in a government adopting the commission form, or the officer or officers designated in the charter in a government adopting a charter. See Montana Code 7-5-101
  • Coal bed methane developer or operator: means the person who acquires a lease for the purpose of extracting natural gas from a coal bed. See Montana Code 76-15-903
  • Commercial channels: means the sale of wheat or barley for any use when sold to any commercial buyer, dealer, processor, cooperative, or to any person, public or private, who resells any wheat or barley or product produced from wheat or barley. See Montana Code 80-11-201
  • Commercial channels: means the sale of agricultural commodities for any use when sold to:

    (a)a commercial buyer, dealer, processor, or cooperative;

    (b)a person, public or private, who resells any agricultural commodity or product produced from crops grown in Montana; or

    (c)a first purchaser in Montana. See Montana Code 80-11-503

  • Committee: means the Montana wheat and barley committee provided for in 2-15-3002. See Montana Code 80-11-201
  • Committee: means the Montana alfalfa seed committee established in 2-15-3004. See Montana Code 80-11-303
  • Committee: means the Montana pulse crop committee provided for in 2-15-3007. See Montana Code 80-11-1001
  • Commodity: means any agricultural crop, forage used by livestock, livestock, bird, fish, or value-added agricultural product that is grown or produced in or imported into Montana. See Montana Code 80-11-503
  • Common association: means an association of employees established pursuant to 2-18-1310 for the purposes of employer and employee participation in the plan. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Community and urban forestry: means the planning, establishment, protection, care, and management of trees and associated plants individually, in small groups, or under forest conditions within municipalities and counties. See Montana Code 77-5-402
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Container: means any package, sack, box, crate, carton, basket, or other object used for the shipping of produce. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Contract harvesting: means a timber harvest or timber sale occurring on state trust lands by which:

    (a)the department solicits bids and contracts with a firm or individual awarded the bid to:

    (i)perform all necessary work to harvest and process trees into merchantable forest products;

    (ii)sort trees pursuant to contract specifications and department use standards; and

    (iii)transport and deliver the products to forest product purchasers; and

    (b)the department sells the forest products to one or more forest product purchasers through the competitive bidding process pursuant to 77-5-201(1) and (2). See Montana Code 77-5-215

  • Contract harvesting costs: means expenses related to the production of log sorts or other merchantable products from a stand of timber and the transportation of the products to point-of-sale locations. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • Contracting employer: means an employer who, pursuant to 2-18-1310, has contracted with the department to participate in the plan. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Crop weed: means any plant commonly accepted as a weed and for which grants for management research, evaluation, and education under 80-7-814(5)(g) may be given. See Montana Code 80-7-801
  • Cropland: means land used for the production of food and forage, including the headlands, ditches, and rights-of-way adjacent to such land. See Montana Code 80-7-501
  • Cropland spraying program: means the application of chemical or other substances to croplands for the purpose of preventing or destroying insect pests. See Montana Code 80-7-501
  • custodial account: means a separate account established and maintained by a livestock market or livestock video auction engaged in selling livestock on a commission or agency basis. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Customary: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Dealer: means any person, partnership, association, corporation, cooperative, or other business unit or device that first handles, packs, ships, buys, and sells alfalfa seed or that acts as sales or purchasing agent, broker, or factor of alfalfa seed. See Montana Code 80-11-303
  • Decked: means a pile of logs or other merchantable forest products that have been prepared for sale or shipment and placed upon a landing. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • Dedication: means the deliberate appropriation of land by an owner for any general and public use, reserving to the landowner no rights that are incompatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of the public use to which the property has been devoted. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department: means the department of agriculture established in 2-15-3001. See Montana Code 80-7-801
  • Department: means the department of agriculture provided for in 2-15-3001. See Montana Code 80-11-1001
  • Department: means the department of livestock. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Department: means the department of livestock created in Title 2, chapter 15, part 31. See Montana Code 81-6-302
  • Department: means the department of livestock provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 31. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Department: means the department of administration provided for in 2-15-1001. See Montana Code 2-18-809
  • Department: means the department of administration provided for in 2-15-1001. See Montana Code 2-18-1101
  • Department: means the department of administration established in 2-15-1001. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Department: means the department of administration created in 2-15-1001. See Montana Code 2-19-101
  • Department: means the department of natural resources and conservation as provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 33. See Montana Code 76-15-903
  • Department: means the department of natural resources and conservation provided for in 2-15-3301. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • Department: means the department of natural resources and conservation provided for in 2-15-3301. See Montana Code 77-5-402
  • Departments: means the department of agriculture, the department of fish, wildlife, and parks, the department of natural resources and conservation, and the department of transportation. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Dependent: means the tax-qualified dependent or child of the participant as determined under section 105(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Director: means the director of agriculture appointed pursuant to 2-15-3001. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Division of land: means the segregation of one or more parcels of land from a larger tract held in single or undivided ownership by transferring or contracting to transfer title to a portion of the tract or properly filing a certificate of survey or subdivision plat establishing the identity of the segregated parcels pursuant to this chapter. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Drain plug: means a valve or device used to control the drainage of water from a compartment designed to hold water, such as a bilge, livewell, or ballast tank. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • duplex: means a building designed for two attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Dwelling: means a building designed for residential living purposes, including single-unit, two-unit, and multi-unit dwellings. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Dwelling unit: means one or more rooms designed for or occupied exclusively by one household. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) Source: OCC
  • Emergency: means the loss of a water supply that must be replaced immediately to avoid substantial damage to a landowner or a water right holder. See Montana Code 76-15-903
  • Employee: means an employee of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch or the Montana university system. See Montana Code 2-18-1101
  • Employee: means a person employed by the state who has achieved permanent status, as defined in 2-18-101, or officers and employees of the legislative branch and teachers under the authority of the department of corrections or department of public health and human services who have been employed for at least 6 continuous months. See Montana Code 2-18-1202
  • Employee: means a person employed by an employer. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Employer: means a legally constituted department, board, commission, or any other administrative unit of state government, a county, an incorporated city or town, or any other political subdivision of the state, including a school district, or a unit of the university system. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Equipment: means an implement or machinery that has been wholly or partially immersed in surface waters, including but not limited to boat lifts, trailers transporting vessels, floating docks, pilings, dredge pipes, and buoys. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Examining land surveyor: means a registered land surveyor appointed by the governing body to review surveys and plats submitted for filing. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • Female: means a member of the human species who, under normal development, has XX chromosomes and produces or would produce relatively large, relatively immobile gametes, or eggs, during her life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of those gametes. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Final plat: means the final drawing of the subdivision and dedication required by this chapter to be prepared for filing for record with the county clerk and recorder and containing all elements and requirements set forth in this chapter and in regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • First purchaser: means any person, public or private corporation, association, or partnership buying, accepting for shipment, or otherwise acquiring the property in or to wheat or barley from a grower and shall include a mortgagee, pledgee, lienor, or other person, public or private, having a claim against the grower, where the actual or constructive possession of such wheat or barley is taken as part payment or in satisfaction of such mortgage, pledge, lien, or claim. See Montana Code 80-11-201
  • First purchaser: means a person, public or private, corporation, association, or partnership that buys, accepts for shipment, or otherwise acquires the property in or to agricultural commodities from a grower or producer. See Montana Code 80-11-503
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Flexible spending account: means a funding and accounting arrangement allowed by federal law that:

    (a)gives a state employee a choice between receiving taxable salary or having a part of the employee's salary withheld; and

    (b)provides for depositing any portion of the state employee's salary withheld and any employer contribution designated by the employee into an account and receiving from that account nontaxable reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket medical expenses of the state employee or a dependent of the employee. See Montana Code 2-18-809

  • Fluid milk plant: means a place where milk or cream is not produced but is purchased or collected and prepared for distribution to the consumer in liquid form. See Montana Code 81-21-101
  • Forage: means any crop, including alfalfa, grass, small grains, straw, and similar crops and commodities, that is grown, harvested, and sold for livestock forage, bedding material, or mulch or related uses and the byproducts of those crops or commodities that have been processed into pellets, cubes, or related products. See Montana Code 80-7-903
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Forest health concerns: means issues that can be addressed through management or harvest of merchantable or nonmerchantable trees and includes:

    (a)forested lands that are overcrowded or stagnant and that are showing declining annual growth;

    (b)wildland-urban interface areas where timber harvest or forest management is necessary to prevent catastrophic or other damage to forested lands, livestock, buildings, or other infrastructure;

    (c)fire fuel buildup and treatment on forested lands;

    (d)forested lands susceptible to imminent or repeated insect or disease attack and timber degradation;

    (e)forested lands that are in a high state of decline or decay or are rapidly deteriorating;

    (f)forested lands with high recreational use and high degradation risk; and

    (g)forested lands under drought stress. See Montana Code 77-5-215

  • Forest practices: means , within a timber sale, the harvesting of trees, road construction or reconstruction associated with harvesting and accessing trees, site preparation for regeneration of a timber stand, reforestation, and management of logging slash. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • Forest products: means any product produced from the forest that the department can sell through competitive bid or direct negotiation. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • fourplex: means a building designed for four attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway, excluding common hallways. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Garbage: means wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, and consumption of animal products, including animal carcasses or parts of animal carcasses, or other refuse of any character that has been associated with any animal products, including animal carcasses or parts of animal carcasses. See Montana Code 81-2-501
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • governing body: means the elected body responsible for the administration of a local government. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Group benefits: means group hospitalization, health, medical, surgical, disability, life, and other similar and related group benefits provided to officers and employees of the state, including flexible spending account benefits. See Montana Code 2-18-809
  • Grower: means any landowner personally engaged in growing wheat or barley, a tenant of the landowner personally engaged in growing wheat or barley, or both the owner and the tenant jointly; and includes a person, partnership, association, corporation, cooperative, trust, sharecropper, and any and all other business units, devices, and arrangements. See Montana Code 80-11-201
  • Grower: means any landowner personally engaged in growing alfalfa seed, a tenant personally engaged in growing alfalfa seed, or both the owner and the tenant jointly, and includes a person, partnership, association, corporation, cooperative organization, trust, sharecropper, or any and all other business units, devices, and arrangements that grow alfalfa seed or are engaged in the pollination of alfalfa seed. See Montana Code 80-11-303
  • Handled in the primary channels of trade: means the time when any alfalfa seed is delivered under a sales contract, sold, or delivered for shipment and sale. See Montana Code 80-11-303
  • Health certificate: means a legible record written on an official health certificate form of the state of origin or on an equivalent form of the U. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Hemp: means the plant species Cannabis sativa L. See Montana Code 80-18-101
  • Hemp crude: means a hemp derivative in a temporary state of not complying with the legal definition of hemp, the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or the amount of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid that will be further processed in order to comply. See Montana Code 80-18-101
  • Hemp derivatives: means all products that contain or are processed from, extracted from, or manufactured from hemp. See Montana Code 80-18-101
  • Immediate family: means a spouse, children by blood or adoption, and parents. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Infestation: means that a pest exists in such numbers, under certain conditions, and at certain times as to destroy or substantially damage or threaten to destroy livestock or other agricultural crops. See Montana Code 80-7-501
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Insect pest: includes the grasshopper, cutworm, pale western cutworm, armyworm, chinch bug, and any other insect or arthropod generally recognized as a destroyer of grain, hay, range, and horticulture crops. See Montana Code 80-7-501
  • Invasive species: means , upon the mutual agreement of the directors of the departments, a nonnative, aquatic species that has caused, is causing, or is likely to cause harm to the economy, environment, recreational opportunities, or human health. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • Invasive species management area: means a designation made by a department under 80-7-1008 for a specific area or for a body or bodies of water for a specific or indeterminate amount of time that regulates invasive species or potential carriers of invasive species within the boundaries of that area. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • Irrigation district: means a district established pursuant to Title 85, chapter 7. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • jurisdiction: means the area within the boundaries of the local government. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
  • Land use permit: means an authorization to complete development in conformance with an application approved by the local government. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Land use plan: means the land use plan and future land use map adopted in accordance with this chapter. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Land use regulations: means zoning, zoning map, subdivision, or other land use regulations authorized by state law. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Livestock: means cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, llamas, alpacas, bison, swine, ostriches, rheas, emus, goats, alternative livestock as defined in 87-4-406, and other animals for purposes of disease prevention, control, and eradication. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Livestock: includes ostriches, rheas, and emus in addition to other livestock. See Montana Code 81-6-302
  • Livestock: means cattle, calves, hogs, pigs, horses, mules, sheep, lambs, and goats. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Livestock dealer: means a person engaged in the business of buying or selling livestock in commerce on the person's own account or as an employee or agent of a vendor or purchaser. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Livestock market: means :

    (i)a person engaged in the business of buying or selling livestock in commerce on a commission basis;

    (ii)a person engaged in the business of furnishing stockyard services; or

    (iii)a livestock video auction as defined in this section. See Montana Code 81-8-213

  • Livestock video auction: means a person who conducts the business of buying or selling livestock on a commission or fee basis through the use of online, video, or other electronic means and who provides the means for handling receivables or proceeds resulting from these types of transactions. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Local government: means a county, consolidated city-county, or an incorporated municipality to which the provisions of this chapter apply as provided in 76-25-105. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Log sorts: means trees or portions of trees that are grouped and sorted into various product categories, including but not limited to pulp logs, sawlogs, and house logs. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • Male: means a member of the human species who, under normal development, has XY chromosomes and produces or would produce small, mobile gametes, or sperm, during his life cycle and has a reproductive and endocrine system oriented around the production of those gametes. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Manufactured housing: means a dwelling for a single household, built offsite in a factory that is in compliance with the applicable prevailing standards of the United States department of housing and urban development at the time of its production. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Marijuana: means all plant material from the genus Cannabis containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or seeds of the genus capable of germination. See Montana Code 80-18-101
  • Member: means an employee whose work unit voted to establish a common association. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Ministerial permit: means a permit granted upon a determination that a proposed project complies with the zoning map and the established standards set forth in the zoning regulations. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Net receipts: means the net weight multiplied by the price paid to the producer. See Montana Code 80-11-1001
  • Noxious weed: means any weed defined in 7-22-2101(9)(a). See Montana Code 80-7-801
  • Noxious weed seed free: means that forage has an absence of noxious weed seeds within a standardized range of variances or tolerances established by department rule. See Montana Code 80-7-903
  • Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Operator: means a person responsible for conducting forest practices. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • organization of cattle growers: means any group or organization holding regular meetings at least annually, having officers, and composed predominantly of cattle growers resident in the county, with its membership open to cattle growers willing to abide by its governing rules or bylaws. See Montana Code 81-6-101
  • Original bill: A bill which is drafted by a committee. It is introduced by the committee or subcommittee chairman after the committee votes to report it.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Owner: means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or association of any nature that holds an ownership interest in forest land or timber. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • Participant: means a member who terminates employment and for whom an account is established. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
  • Permit: means an official document issued by the department after proper application that allows the movement of animals, animal semen, or animal biologics into Montana. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Permitted use: means a use that may be approved by issuance of a ministerial permit. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Person: means a natural person, individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, joint-stock association, body politic, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not, and any trustee, receiver, assignee, or similar representative. See Montana Code 80-7-903
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, limited partnership, limited liability company, governmental subdivision, agency, or public or private organization of any character. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • Person: means a natural person, individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organized group of persons and any trustee, receiver, assignee, or similar representative. See Montana Code 80-11-503
  • Person: means the state, any municipality, political subdivision, school district, institution, public or private corporation, individual, partnership, or other entity. See Montana Code 81-2-501
  • Person: means an individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Person: means an individual, firm, partnership, company, commercial entity, corporation, or association. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • Person: means an individual, firm, association, corporation, partnership, or any other form of business enterprise. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: means money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • persons: includes natural persons, partnerships, corporations, trusts, and estates. See Montana Code 81-7-601
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plan: means the employee welfare benefit plan established under section 501(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Planning administrator: means the person designated by the local governing body to review, analyze, provide recommendations, or make final decisions on any or all zoning, subdivision, and other development applications as required in this chapter. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Plat: means a graphical representation of a subdivision showing the division of land into lots, parcels, blocks, streets, alleys, and other divisions and dedications. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Poultry: means domesticated birds, including but not limited to chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pigeons, and pheasants. See Montana Code 81-2-702
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • power site: as used in this part shall mean not only the state-owned land on which the dam is constructed, but also each separate tract of such land which will become part of the reservoir and which in and of itself makes an essential contribution to the value of the power site as a whole of not less than 5% of the entire value of such power site. See Montana Code 77-4-202
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Preliminary plat: means a neat and scaled drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the layout of streets, alleys, lots, blocks, and other elements of a subdivision that furnish a basis for review by a governing body. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Printing: means the act of reproducing a design on a surface by any process. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • Privatization: means contracting with the private sector to provide a service normally or traditionally provided directly by an employee of an agency. See Montana Code 2-18-1202
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
  • Produce: means any fruit, vegetable, or other natural product designated by department rule. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Produce dealer: means a person who engages in a business involving or who as part of a business participates in purchasing, exchanging, negotiating, or soliciting the sale, resale, exchange, or transfer of produce in this state, except vegetative seed potato products intended or used for planting purposes. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Produce unit: means the standard size container for a given type of produce. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • producer: means a person or landowner who is personally engaged in growing or producing agricultural commodities, a tenant of the landowner who is personally engaged in growing or producing commodities, or both the landowner and the tenant jointly. See Montana Code 80-11-503
  • Producer: means a person or landowner who is personally engaged in growing or producing pulse crops, a tenant of the landowner who is personally engaged in growing or producing pulse crops, or both the landowner and the tenant jointly. See Montana Code 80-11-1001
  • Program: means the livestock crimestoppers program created under 81-6-313. See Montana Code 81-6-302
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Proxy voting: The practice of allowing a legislator to cast a vote in committee for an absent legislator.
  • Public consumption: means the use of milk or cream by the public for any purpose. See Montana Code 81-21-101
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Public utility: has the meaning provided in 69-3-101, except that for the purposes of this chapter, the term includes a county water or sewer district as provided for in Title 7, chapter 13, parts 22 and 23, and municipal sewer or water systems and municipal water supply systems established by the governing body of a municipality pursuant to Title 7, chapter 13, parts 42, 43, and 44. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Pulse crops: means dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, and fava beans. See Montana Code 80-11-1001
  • Qualified health care expenses: means expenses paid by a participant for medical care, as defined by 26 U. See Montana Code 2-18-1303
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Retail: means sale of produce to the ultimate consumer. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Sale: includes any pledge or mortgage of wheat or barley after harvest to any person, public or private. See Montana Code 80-11-201
  • Sale: includes any mortgage or pledge of agricultural commodities to a person, public or private. See Montana Code 80-11-503
  • Sawlogs: means merchantable timber prepared and sorted as decked, scaled logs and sold f. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • Scaled: means the measured volume, weight, or other measurement of a log, load of logs, or other products. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • sell: means the selling, wholesaling, distributing, offering, exposing for sale, advertising, exchanging, brokering, bartering, or giving away by any person within this state of any forage as noxious weed seed free or certified or approved as noxious weed seed free. See Montana Code 80-7-903
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Sex: means the organization of the body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Shipping point inspection: means an inspection of produce at the location from which it was shipped. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Single-unit dwelling: means a building designed for one dwelling unit that is detached from any other dwelling unit. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Small dairy: means a place where no more than 5 lactating cows, 10 lactating goats, or 10 lactating sheep are kept for producing milk. See Montana Code 81-21-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • State agency: means any state office, board, bureau, commission, department, or agency but does not include any agency operated by a city, town, county, school district, or other political subdivision. See Montana Code 2-19-101
  • State employee: means an employee of the state, specifically including a member or employee of the legislative branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-18-809
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Stop sale order: means a written notice to hold produce from sale or movement until a violation has been resolved and the produce is released by the department. See Montana Code 80-3-302
  • Stream: means a natural watercourse of perceptible extent that has a generally sandy or rocky bottom or definite banks and that confines and conducts continuously or intermittently flowing water. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • Stumpage: means the value of timber as it exists, uncut, within a harvest unit, expressed in terms of dollars per thousand board feet, dollars per ton, or other appropriate value per-unit designation. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • Subdivider: means a person who causes land to be subdivided or who proposes a subdivision of land. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Subdivision: means a division of land or land so divided that it creates one or more parcels containing less than 160 acres that cannot be described as a one-quarter aliquot part of a United States government section, exclusive of public roadways, in order that the title to the parcels may be sold or otherwise transferred and includes any resubdivision and a condominium. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • subscription: includes the mark of a person who cannot write if the person's name is written near the mark by another person who also signs that person's own name as a witness. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Synthetic cannabinoids: has the meaning provided in 50-32-222 and includes any cannabinoids produced artificially, whether from chemical synthesis or biosynthesis using recombinant biological agents, including but not limited to yeast and algae. See Montana Code 80-18-101
  • Test station sale: means the sale of livestock from a place where livestock is taken to measure rates of gain under uniform feeding conditions when that place is not owned by the owner of the livestock. See Montana Code 81-8-213
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Timber: means any wood growth on state trust land, mature or immature, alive or dead, standing or down, that is capable of furnishing merchantable raw material used in the manufacture of lumber or other forest products. See Montana Code 77-5-215
  • Timber sale: means a series of forest practices designed to access, harvest, or regenerate trees on a defined land area for commercial purposes. See Montana Code 77-5-302
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Tract of record: means an individual parcel of land, irrespective of ownership, that can be identified by legal description, independent of any other parcel of land, using documents on file in the records of the county clerk and recorder's office. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • triplex: means a building designed for three attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway, excluding common hallways. See Montana Code 76-25-103
  • Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
  • unit: means privately deeded land or land leased from the state, or a combination of the two, that is under the control of one operator, manager, or family. See Montana Code 77-6-221
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Usual: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
  • Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Vessel: has the meaning provided in 61-1-101. See Montana Code 80-7-1003
  • Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
  • Willfully: when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, means a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the omission referred to. See Montana Code 1-1-204
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ: means an order in writing issued in the name of the state or of a court or judicial officer. See Montana Code 1-1-202
  • Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
  • zone: means a stream, lake, or other body of water and an adjacent area of varying width where management practices that might affect wildlife habitat or water quality, fish, or other aquatic resources need to be modified. See Montana Code 77-5-302