Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 77. STATE LANDS

CHAPTER 5. TIMBER RESOURCES

Part 2. Timber Sales and Removal

Contract Harvesting Account -- Authorized Expenditures -- Termination

77-5-219. Contract harvesting account -- authorized expenditures -- termination. (1) An account, called the contract harvesting account, must be created as a subaccount of the trust land administration account established in 77-1-108, in which to deposit gross revenue and for the payment of expenditures associated with contract harvesting sales. All proceeds of the sale of forest products from a contract harvesting sale must be deposited into this account and must be retained in the account to be used to pay for all contract harvesting costs, as provided in subsection (2).

(2) Expenditures may be credited against the account for contract harvesting costs. Personnel services costs for state employees may not be credited against the account.

(3) An amount equal to the contract harvesting costs must be retained in the account and must be deducted from the gross proceeds to determine the net proceeds. The net proceeds from the sale of the forest products must be distributed to the appropriate trust.

(4) An initial account balance must be created by transferring up to $500,000 into the contract harvesting account from the trust land administration account.

(5) If the contract harvesting program is terminated or discontinued for more than 10 years, any balance remaining in the contract harvesting account in excess of $500,000 must be distributed to the appropriate trust. The remaining balance up to $500,000 must be transferred back to the trust land administration account provided for in 77-1-108.

History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 494, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 465, L. 2009.