23-2-616. Registration and registration decal -- application and issuance -- use of certain fees. (1) Except for a snowmobile registered under 23-2-621, a snowmobile may not be operated on public lands by any person unless it has been registered and a registration decal is displayed in a conspicuous place on the left side of the cowl.
     (2) (a) A Montana resident who owns a snowmobile operated on public land shall register the snowmobile at the county treasurer's office in the county where the owner resides.
     (b) A county treasurer shall register a snowmobile if:
     (i) as of the date that the snowmobile is to be registered, the owner delivers or has delivered an application for a certificate of title to the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer; or
     (ii) the county treasurer has confirmed that the department of justice has an electronic record of title for the snowmobile as provided in 61-3-101.
     (c) To register a snowmobile, the county treasurer shall update the electronic record of title maintained by the department of justice, by entering the fees paid and recording any changes to the record.
     (3) The owner registering a snowmobile shall pay a registration fee of $6.50 in calendar year 2004 and, in each subsequent year, $20.50 and, if the snowmobile has previously been registered, show the county treasurer the registration receipt for the most recent year in which the snowmobile was registered. Upon payment of the proper fees, including the fee in lieu of tax, the treasurer shall issue a registration receipt that contains information considered necessary by the department of justice and a listing of fees paid. The owner shall retain possession of the registration receipt until it is surrendered to the county treasurer or to a purchaser or subsequent owner pursuant to a transfer of ownership.
     (4) The county treasurer shall forward the application to the department of justice and shall issue to the applicant a registration decal in the style and design prescribed by the department of justice.
     (5) The county treasurer may not register a snowmobile under this section unless the applicant has paid the registration fee and the fee in lieu of property tax on the snowmobile as required by 15-16-202.
     (6) All money collected from payment of registration fees and all interest accruing from use of this money must be forwarded to the department of revenue, as provided in 15-1-504, for deposit in the state general fund.
     (7) The county treasurer shall credit all fees in lieu of tax collected on snowmobiles to the state general fund.
     (8) The fee imposed in subsection (3) is a one-time fee except on change of ownership. When ownership of the snowmobile changes, the new owner shall pay the fee in subsection (3).

     History: (1) thru (6)En. Sec. 2, Ch. 435, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 19, Ch. 391, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 494, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 249, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 13, Ch. 417, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 421, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 44, Ch. 566, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 53-1025; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 363, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 26, Ch. 712, L. 1979; (7)En. Sec. 17, Ch. 712, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 277, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 421, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 398, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 351, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 257, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 136, Ch. 574, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 25, Ch. 477, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 592, L. 2003.