81-23-202. Licenses -- disposition of income. (1) A producer, producer-distributor, distributor, or jobber may not engage in the business of producing or selling milk subject to this chapter in this state without first having obtained a license from the department, as provided in 81-22-202, or, in the case of milk entering this state from another state or foreign nation, without complying with the requirements of the Montana Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and without being licensed under this chapter by the department. The annual fee for the license from the department is $2 and is due before July 1 and must be deposited by the department to the credit of the general fund. The license required by this chapter is in addition to any other license required by state law or any municipality of this state. This chapter applies to every part of the state of Montana.
(2) In addition to the annual license fee, the department shall, in each year, before April 1, for the purpose of securing funds to administer and enforce this chapter, levy an assessment upon producers, producer-distributors, and distributors as follows:
(a) a fee per hundredweight on the total volume of all milk subject to this chapter produced and sold by a producer-distributor;
(b) a fee per hundredweight on the total volume of all milk subject to this chapter sold by a producer;
(c) a fee per hundredweight on the total volume of all milk subject to this chapter sold by a distributor, excepting that which is sold to another distributor.
(3) The department shall adopt rules fixing the amount of each fee. The amounts may not exceed levels sufficient to provide for the administration of this chapter. The fee assessed on a producer or on a distributor may not be more than one-half the fee assessed on a producer-distributor.
(4) In addition to the fees established in subsections (1) through (3), the department shall assess a fee of 14.97 cents per hundredweight on the volume of class I milk produced and sold by a producer to be used for the administration of the milk inspection and milk diagnostic laboratory functions of the department. The board shall include this fee in its formulas for fixing by rule the minimum producer prices for class I milk in 81-23-302.
(5) The assessments upon producer-distributors, producers, and distributors must be paid quarterly before January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15 of each year. The amount of the assessments must be computed by applying the fee designated by the department and the fee established in subsection (4) to the volume of milk sold in the preceding calendar quarter.
(6) Failure of a producer, producer-distributor, or distributor to pay an assessment when due is a violation of this chapter, and a license under this chapter automatically terminates and is void. A terminated license must be reinstated by the department upon payment of a delinquency fee equal to 30% of the assessment that was due.
(7) All assessments required by this chapter must be deposited by the department in the state special revenue fund. All costs of administering chapter 22 and this chapter, including the salaries of employees and assistants, per diem and expenses of board members, and all other disbursements necessary to carry out the purpose of chapter 22 and this chapter, must be paid out of the board money in that fund.
(8) The department may, if it finds the costs of administering and enforcing this chapter can be derived from lower rates, amend its rules to fix the rates at a less amount on or before April 1 in any year.
History: Ap. p. Sec. 9, Ch. 204, L. 1939; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 192, L. 1959; amd. Sec. 157, Ch. 147, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 107, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 127, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 94, Ch. 431, L. 1975; Sec. 27-409, R.C.M. 1947; Ap. p. Sec. 23, Ch. 204, L. 1939; amd. Sec. 106, Ch. 431, L. 1975; Sec. 27-423, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 27-409, 27-423(part); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 277, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 566, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 242, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 333, L. 1995.
