MT Code § 15-70-130 (2021)
2021 Montana Code Annotated|Title 15. Taxation|Chapter 70. Gasoline and Vehicle Fuels Taxes|Part 1. General Provisions|15-70-130. Local government road construction and maintenance match program

  15-70-130. Local government road construction and maintenance match program. (1) There is a local government road construction and maintenance match program to provide funding to cities, towns, counties, and consolidated city-county governments for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of rural roads, city or town streets and alleys, and bridges as provided in this section.   (2) The department of transportation shall allocate funds provided for in 15-70-127(2)(b) collected between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. The first allocations must be made by March 1, 2018, and allocations must be made each March 1 thereafter. The funds provided for in 15-70-127(2)(b) are statutorily appropriated, as provided in 17-7-502, to the department and must be allocated to cities, towns, counties, and consolidated city-county governments in the same proportion and using the same ratios provided for in 15-70-101(2)(b), (2)(c), and (3).   (3) A city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government that requests funds under this section shall match each $20 requested with $1 of local government matching funds. The funds distributed in 15-70-101(2) may not be used as matching funds. The matching funds must be used along with the requested funding for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or repair of rural roads, city or town streets and alleys, or bridges.   (4) A city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government may request a distribution of allocated funds by submitting a request to the department of transportation between March 1 and November 1 of the year the funds were allocated. The request must include:   (a) the amount of funding sought, which may not exceed the amount allocated for that year;   (b) a copy of an adopted resolution to request and accept the funding by the governing body of the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government. The resolution must identify the source of the matching funds required under subsection (3).   (c) a description of the project or projects to be funded, which must be for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or repair of rural roads, city or town streets and alleys, or bridges, as a match for federal funds used for the construction of roads and streets that are part of the national, primary, secondary, or urban highway systems, or roads and streets that the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government has the responsibility to maintain.   (5) A city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government receiving funds under this section shall award construction projects that exceed the thresholds provided for in 7-5-2301 and 7-5-4302 in a competitive bid process.   (6) Except as provided in subsection (9), the department of transportation shall distribute the funds to the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government for any request for funds that meets the requirements of subsection (4).   (7) Funds not distributed pursuant to this section must remain in the account provided for in 15-70-127 and be used for the local government road construction and maintenance match program in future years.   (8) A city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government that receives funding distributed under this section may place all or a part of the funds and the corresponding matching funds in a restricted asset account within the gas tax apportionment fund that is carried forward until there is a need for the expenditure. The city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government shall obligate the funds by March 1, 5 years after the year in which the funds were distributed or would have been distributed if not reserved pursuant to subsection (9). Funds not obligated within the 5-year period must be returned to the department and deposited in the account provided for in 15-70-127 and used as provided in 15-70-127(2)(b).   (9) The share of funds allocated to a city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government as provided in subsection (2) may be reserved for the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government for up to 2 years if the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government is unable to match the funds as required by subsection (3). To reserve the funds, the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government shall adopt a resolution as provided in subsection (4)(b) and submit a request to reserve the funds by November 1 of the year after the year in which the department allocated the funds. If the city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government does not request distribution of the funds by November 1 of the fiscal year 2 years after the request to reserve the funds, the funds must be deposited in the account provided for in 15-70-127 and used as provided in 15-70-127(2)(b).   (10) A city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government shall submit an annual report to the department providing information on approved projects, changes to the list of projects funded, and final project costs.   (11) Within 90 days of completion of a project, a city, town, county, or consolidated city-county government shall notify the department of the intent to use the funds for additional projects within the time period provided for in subsection (8) or to remit any unused funds to the department. The unused funds must be deposited in the account provided for in 15-70-127 and used as provided in 15-70-127(2)(b).   History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 267, L. 2017.