15-70-101. Disposition of funds. (1) All taxes collected under this chapter must, in accordance with the provisions of 15-1-501, be placed in a highway revenue account in the state special revenue fund to the credit of the department of transportation. Those funds allocated to cities, towns, and counties in this section must, in accordance with the provisions of 15-1-501, be paid by the department of transportation from the state special revenue fund to the cities, towns, and counties.
(2) The amount of $16,766,000 of the taxes collected under this chapter is statutorily appropriated, as provided in 17-7-502, to the department of transportation and must be allocated each fiscal year on a monthly basis to the counties and incorporated cities and towns in Montana for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of rural roads and city or town streets and alleys, as provided in subsections (2)(a) through (2)(c):
(a) The amount of $54,000 must be designated for the purposes and functions of the Montana rural technical assistance transportation program in Bozeman.
(b) The amount of $6,323,000 must be divided among the various counties in the following manner:
(i) 40% in the ratio that the rural road mileage in each county, exclusive of the federal-aid interstate system and the federal-aid primary system, bears to the total rural road mileage in the state, exclusive of the federal-aid interstate system and the federal-aid primary system;
(ii) 40% in the ratio that the rural population in each county outside incorporated cities and towns bears to the total rural population in the state outside incorporated cities and towns;
(iii) 20% in the ratio that the land area of each county bears to the total land area of the state.
(c) The amount of $10,389,000 must be divided among the incorporated cities and towns in the following manner:
(i) 50% of the sum in the ratio that the population within the corporate limits of the city or town bears to the total population within corporate limits of all the cities and towns in Montana;
(ii) 50% in the ratio that the city or town street and alley mileage, exclusive of the federal-aid interstate system and the federal-aid primary system, within corporate limits bears to the total street and alley mileage, exclusive of the federal-aid interstate system and federal-aid primary system, within the corporate limits of all cities and towns in Montana.
(3) All funds allocated by this section to counties, cities, and towns must be used for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of rural roads or city or town streets and alleys or for the share that the city, town, or county might otherwise expend for proportionate matching of federal funds allocated for the construction of roads or streets that are part of the federal-aid primary or secondary highway system or urban extensions to those systems, except that the governing body of a town or third-class city, as defined in 7-1-4111, may each year expend no more than 25% of the funds allocated to that town or third-class city for the purchase of capital equipment and supplies to be used for the maintenance and repair of town or third-class city streets and alleys.
(4) All funds allocated by this section to counties, cities, and towns must be disbursed to the lowest responsible bidder according to applicable bidding procedures followed in all cases in which the contract for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or repair is in excess of $4,000.
(5) For the purposes of this section in which distribution of funds is made on a basis related to population, the population must be determined by the last preceding official federal census.
(6) For the purposes of this section in which determination of mileage is necessary for distribution of funds, it is the responsibility of the cities, towns, and counties to furnish to the department of transportation a yearly certified statement indicating the total mileage within their respective areas applicable to this chapter. All mileage submitted is subject to review and approval by the department of transportation.
(7) Except by a town or third-class city as provided in subsection (3), the funds authorized by this section may not be used for the purchase of capital equipment.
(8) Funds authorized by this section must be used for construction and maintenance programs.
History: En. Sec. 11, Ch. 162, L. 1955; amd. Sec. 213, Ch. 147, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 6, Ex. L. 1967; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 355, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 384, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 338, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 330, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 514, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 34, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 84-1840; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 632, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 238, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 277, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 624, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 257, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 703, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 292, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 557, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 82, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 512, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 455, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 605, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 10, Sp. L. November 1993; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 18, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 509, L. 1995.
