2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 77. State Lands › Chapter 1. Administration of State Lands › Part 1. General Provisions › 77-1-108. Trust land administration account -- administrative costs -- appropriation

77-1-108. Trust land administration account -- administrative costs -- appropriation.
(1) There is a trust land administration account in the state special revenue fund. Money in the account is available to the department by appropriation and must be used to pay the costs of administering state trust lands. This includes the cost of managing assets, including but not limited to real property and monetary assets.
(2) Appropriations from the account for each fiscal year may not exceed an amount equal to 25% of the distributable revenue, as defined in 77-1-101, generated in the fiscal year completed prior to the legislative session that will appropriate money for the next biennium. This excludes revenue generated by the forest improvement fee provided for in 77-5-204.
(3) (a) Pursuant to subsection (1), the administrative costs must be determined for each land trust. The department may adopt rules regarding the calculation of administrative costs as necessary.
(b) Each fiscal year, the department shall compare administrative costs for each land trust to the amount of revenue that land trust generates for the account. If the amount of revenue deposited pursuant to 77-1-109(2) exceeds the administrative costs for a specific land trust, the excess revenue must be distributed as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
(c) If revenue deposited from a specific land trust is insufficient to defray the administrative costs associated with managing that land trust and the money held for that trust in the earnings reserve account established in 77-1-132 is also insufficient, the board may receive a general fund loan pursuant to 17-2-107 to offset the difference. A general fund loan made pursuant to this subsection (3)(c) must be repaid within 5 years and must bear interest at a rate of return equal to that earned by the board of investments' short-term investment pool during that period.
(4) (a) Except as provided in subsections (4)(b) and (5), up to one-third of the unreserved distributable revenue remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year may be transferred to the earnings reserve account provided for in 77-1-132 and accounted for by trust. The remaining unreserved revenue must be transferred to each of the permanent funds in proportionate shares to each fund's contribution to the account.
(b) At the end of the fiscal year, unreserved funds received pursuant to 77-1-109(2)(a)(ii) and (2)(a)(iii) must be transferred to each of the permanent funds or to the appropriate trust or distributed to the beneficiary in proportionate shares to each fund's contribution to the account.
(5) (a) The amount of $80,000 each biennium is transferred from the state general fund to an account in the state special revenue fund. The account is statutorily appropriated, as provided in 17-7-502, to the department for the purposes of administering the land granted to the state pursuant to the Morrill Act of 1862, 7 U.S.C. 301 through 308, and the Morrill Act of 1890, 7 U.S.C. 321 through 329. Any unexpended portion of the statutory appropriation may be retained in the account and used for the administration of the Morrill Act land.
(b) At the end of each fiscal year, the department shall pay from the appropriation in subsection (5)(a) to the trust containing proceeds derived from land granted to the state pursuant to the Morrill Act of 1862, 7 U.S.C. 301 through 308, and the Morrill Act of 1890, 7 U.S.C. 321 through 329, an amount calculated to be the cost of administering the investment of the fund derived from that trust. The payment must be based upon the percentage that the Morrill Act fund constitutes of the total fund derived from all trust lands. If the appropriation in subsection (5)(a) is insufficient to pay the calculated administrative cost, a general fund loan may be used pursuant to 17-2-107 to offset the difference.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 122, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 29, Ch. 34, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 247, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 465, L. 2009.