16-1-304. Prohibited acts. (1) An employee of the department involved in the operation of the state liquor warehouse, the issuance of licenses, or the collection of alcoholic beverages taxes or an employee of the department of justice directly involved with license applications or the investigation of matters concerning the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages may not be directly or indirectly interested or engaged in any other business or undertaking dealing in liquor, whether as owner, part owner, partner, member of a syndicate, shareholder, agent, or employee for the employee's own benefit or in a fiduciary capacity for some other person.

(2) An employee of the state, a state agent, or any person having any ownership interest in an agency liquor store may not solicit or receive, directly or indirectly, any commission, remuneration, gift, or other thing tangible or intangible of value from any person or corporation selling or offering liquor for sale to the state pursuant to this code.

(3) A person selling or offering for sale to or purchasing liquor from the state may not directly or indirectly offer to pay any commission, profit, or remuneration or make any gift to any employee of the state, any state agent, or any person having any ownership interest in an agency liquor store or to anyone on behalf of an employee.

(4) The prohibition contained in subsection (3) does not prohibit the state from receiving samples of liquor for the purpose of chemical testing, subject to the following limitations:

(a) Each manufacturer, distiller, compounder, rectifier, importer, or wholesale distributor or any other person, firm, or corporation proposing to sell any liquor to the state of Montana shall submit, without cost to the state prior to the original purchase, an analysis of each brand and may submit a representative sample not exceeding 25 fluid ounces of the merchandise to the state.

(b) When a brand of liquor has been accepted for testing by the state, the state shall forward the sample, unopened and in its entirety, to a qualified chemical laboratory for analysis.

(c) The state shall maintain written records of all samples received. The records must show the brand name, amount and from whom received, date received, the laboratory or chemist to whom forwarded, the state's action on the brand, and the person to whom delivered or other final disposition of the sample.

(5) Liquor may not be withdrawn from the regular warehouse inventory or from the agency liquor stores for any purpose other than sale to persons who hold liquor licenses at the posted price and sale to the consumer at the retail price established by the agent or for destroying damaged or defective merchandise. The state shall maintain a written record including the type, brand, container size, number of bottles or other units, signatures of witnesses, and method of destruction or other disposition of damaged or defective warehouse merchandise.

(6) The state may not require a company that manufactured, distilled, rectified, bottled, or processed and sold less than 200,000 proof gallons of liquor nationwide in the previous calendar year to maintain minimum amounts of liquor in the state warehouse while the distiller retains ownership of the product.