Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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                                     _____________ BILL NO. _____________
                                           (Primary Sponsor)
                            INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________
                       BY REQUEST OF THE TRANSPORTATION INTERIM COMMITTEE
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 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION
 LAWS UNDER TITLE 60 AND RELATED STATUTES FOR CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY; UNIFYING
 SUBSTANTIVELY SIMILAR DEFINITIONS OF "ABANDONMENT"; REORGANIZING DEFINITIONS FOR
 CONFORMITY WITH THE BILL DRAFTING MANUAL; REORGANIZING TITLE 60, CHAPTER 4, PART 2;
 PROVIDING AND REVISING DEFINITIONS; AMENDING SECTIONS 7-14-2101, 7-14-2601, 22-3-1101, 60-1-
 103, 60-2-107, 60-2-112, 60-2-115, 60-2-134, 60-2-220, 60-2-240, 60-3-206, 60-3-211, 60-4-201, 60-4-202, 60-
 4-203, 60-4-209, 60-4-213, 60-4-214, 60-4-215, 60-4-216, 60-4-217, 60-4-218, 60-4-401, 60-4-601, 60-5-102,
 60-6-106, AND 60-11-111, MCA; AND REPEALING SECTIONS 60-4-208 AND 60-11-112, MCA.”
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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         Section 1. Section 7-14-2101, MCA, is amended to read:
         "7-14-2101.    General powers of county relating to roads and bridges -- definitions. (1) The board
 of county commissioners, under the limitations and restrictions that are prescribed by law, may:
         (a)      (i) lay out, maintain, control, and manage county roads and bridges within the county;
         (ii)     subject to 15-10-420, levy taxes for the laying out, maintenance, control, and management of
 the county roads and bridges within the county as provided by law;
         (b)      (i) in the exercise of sound discretion, jointly with other counties, lay out, maintain, control,
 manage, and improve county roads and bridges in adjacent counties, wholly or in part as agreed on between
 the boards of the counties concerned;
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          (ii)    subject to 15-10-420, levy taxes for the laying out, maintenance, control, management, and
 improvement of county roads and bridges in adjacent counties or shared jointly with other counties, as agreed
 on between the boards of the counties concerned and as provided by law;
          (c)     (i) enter into agreements for adjusted annual contributions over not more than 6 years toward
 the cost of joint highway or bridge construction projects entered into in cooperation with other counties, the
 state, or the United States;
          (ii)    subject to 15-10-420, place a joint project in the budget and levy taxes for a joint project as
 provided by law.
          (2)     (a) Following a public hearing, a board of county commissioners may accept by resolution a
 road that has not previously been considered a county road but that has been laid out, constructed, and
 maintained with state department of transportation or county funds.
          (b)     A survey is not required of an existing county road that is accepted by resolution by a board of
 county commissioners.
          (c)     A road that is abandoned by the state may be designated as a county road upon the
 acceptance and approval by resolution of a board of county commissioners.
          (d)     A road on a final subdivision plat that is dedicated to public use is not considered a county road
 until the board of county commissioners approves by resolution the adoption of the road as a county road as
 provided in subsection (4)(b)(ii).
          (3)     The board of county commissioners may adopt regulations for unincorporated areas within a
 county governing:
          (a)     the assignment of numerical physical addresses except for roads under the jurisdiction of a
 federal, state, or tribal entity if that entity objects to the assignment; and
          (b)     the naming of roads except roads under the jurisdiction of a federal, state, or tribal entity unless
 that entity consents to the naming.
          (4)     Unless the context requires otherwise, for the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
 apply:
          (a)     "Bridge" includes rights-of-way or other interest in land, abutments, superstructures, piers, and
 approaches except dirt fills.
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            (b)     "County road" means:
            (i)     a road that is petitioned by real property owners, approved by resolution, and opened by a
 board of county commissioners in accordance with this title;
            (ii)    a road that is dedicated for public use in the county and approved by resolution by a board of
 county commissioners;
            (iii)   a road that has been acquired by eminent domain pursuant to Title 70, chapter 30, and
 accepted by resolution as a county road by a board of county commissioners;
            (iv)    a road that has been gained by the county in an exchange with the state as provided in 60-4-
 201 [section 16]; or
            (v)     a road that has been the subject of a request under 7-14-2622 and for which a legal route has
 been recognized by a district court as provided in 7-14-2622."
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            Section 2. Section 7-14-2601, MCA, is amended to read:
            "7-14-2601.   Petition to establish, alter, or abandon a county road -- definitions. (1) Any 10, or a
 majority, of the real property owners of a road district that is taxable for road purposes may petition the board in
 writing to open, establish, construct, change, abandon, or discontinue any county road in the district.
            (2)     When the road petitioned for is on the dividing line between two counties, the same procedure
 must be followed except that a copy of the petition must be presented to each board. The two boards shall act
 jointly.
            (3)     As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise:
            (a)     "abandonment" or "vacation" means cessation of the use of a right-of-way or easement or of
 activity on a right-of-way or easement with no intention to reclaim or use it again has the meaning provided in
 60-1-103;
            (b)     "board" means the board of county commissioners; and
            (c)     "vacation" has the meaning provided in 60-1-103."
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            Section 3. Section 22-3-1101, MCA, is amended to read:
            "22-3-1101.   Tower Rock -- historic site. (1) A 136-acre site that encompasses Tower Rock, a
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 geologic structure listed in the national register of historic places on March 18, 2002, may not be sold or
 transferred to a nonstate entity and must remain intact as the property of the state of Montana to recognize the
 national and local historic significance of the Lewis and Clark expedition, whose members named the rock
 formation, according to notations in the July 16 and 17, 1805, journals of Meriwether Lewis.
         (2)      The department of transportation may transfer the land to another state agency, and the
 provisions of 60-4-201 through 60-4-203 and [section 16] do not apply. In any transfer of the site, the
 department of transportation may retain access rights where the site abuts interstate 15."
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         Section 4. Section 60-1-103, MCA, is amended to read:
         "60-1-103. General definitions. Subject to additional definitions contained in this title that are
 applicable to specific chapters or sections and unless the context otherwise requires, in this title, the following
 definitions apply:
         (1)      "Abandonment" means cessation of use of right-of-way or an easement or cessation of activity
 on the right-of-way or easement with no intention to reclaim or use again. Abandonment is sometimes called
 vacation or "vacation" means cessation of the use of a right-of-way or easement or of activity on a right-of-way
 or easement with no intention to reclaim or use the right-of-way or easement again.
         (2)      "Bridge" means any bridge constructed by the department, together with all appurtenances,
 additions, alterations, improvements, and replacements and the approaches to the bridge, lands used in
 connection with the bridge, and improvements incidental or integral to the bridge.
         (3)      "Commission" means the transportation commission provided for in 2-15-2502.
         (4)      "Commission-designated highway systems" means the following as defined in this section:
         (a)      national highway system;
         (b)      primary highway system;
         (c)      secondary highway system; and
         (d)      urban highway system.
         (5)      "Condemnation" means taking by exercise of the right of eminent domain, as provided in Title
 70, chapter 30, and chapter 4 of this title.
         (6)      "Construction" means supervising, inspecting, actual building, and all expenses incidental to
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 the construction or reconstruction of a highway, including locating, surveying, mapping, and costs of right-of-
 way or other interests in land and elimination of hazards at railway grade crossings.
         (7)         "Control of access" means the condition in which the right of owners or occupants of abutting
 land or other persons to access, light, air, or view in connection with a highway is fully or partially controlled by
 public authority.
         (8)         "County road" means any public highway opened, established, constructed, maintained,
 abandoned, or discontinued by a county in accordance with Title 7, chapter 14.
         (9)         "Department" means the department of transportation provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part
 25.
         (10)        "Director" means the director of transportation, a position provided for in 2-15-2501.
         (11)        "Easement" means a right acquired by public authority to use or control property for a
 designated purpose.
         (12)        "Eminent domain" means the right of the state to take private property for public use.
         (13)        "Federal-aid highway funds" means those funds available for expenditure by the department
 pursuant to Title 23, U.S.C., or other federally available funds for highways.
         (14)        "Fee simple" means an absolute estate or ownership in property, including unlimited power of
 alienation.
         (15)        "Financial district" means a transportation commission district established in 2-15-2502.
         (16)        "Highway" includes rights-of-way or other interests in land, embankments, retaining walls,
 culverts, sluices, drainage structures, bridges, railroad-highway crossings, tunnels, signs, guardrails, and
 protective structures.
         (17)        "Highway", "road", and "street", whether the terms appear together or separately or are
 preceded by the adjective "public", are general terms denoting a public way for purposes of vehicular travel and
 include the entire area within the right-of-way.
         (18)        "Highway authority" means the entity at any level of government authorized by law to construct
 and maintain highways.
         (19)        "Interstate highway" means a highway that is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower system of
 interstate and defense highways described in Title 23, U.S.C., and is a subcomponent of the national highway
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 system.
           (20)   "Maintenance" means the preservation of the entire highway, including surface, shoulders,
 roadsides, structures, and traffic control devices that are necessary for the safe and efficient use of the
 highway.
           (21)   "National highway system" means that system of public highways designated by the
 commission and approved by the secretary of transportation, as provided in Title 23, U.S.C., including interstate
 highways.
           (22)   "Primary highway system" means those highways that have been functionally classified, in
 accordance with federal requirements, as either principal or minor arterials and designated by the commission
 as being on the primary highway system.
           (23)   "Public highways" means all streets, roads, highways, bridges, and related structures:
           (a)    built and maintained with appropriated funds of the United States or the state or any political
 subdivision of the state;
           (b)    dedicated to public use;
           (c)    acquired by eminent domain, as provided in Title 70, chapter 30, and chapter 4 of this title; or
           (d)    acquired by adverse use by the public, with jurisdiction having been assumed by the state or
 any political subdivision of the state.
           (24)   "Right-of-way" is a general term denoting land, property, or any interest in land or property,
 usually in a strip, acquired for or devoted to highway purposes.
           (25)   "Scenic-historic byway" means a public road or segment of a public road that has been
 designated as a scenic-historic byway by the commission, as provided in 60-2-601.
           (26)   "Secondary highway system" means those highways that are outside department-designated
 urban boundaries and that have been functionally classified, in accordance with federal requirements, as either
 minor arterials or major collectors and designated by the commission, in cooperation with the boards of county
 commissioners, as being on the secondary highway system.
           (27)   "State highways" means the highways throughout the state that are not located on a
 commission-designated highway system but that are on the state maintenance system.
           (28)   "Urban highway system" means the highways and streets that are in and near incorporated
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 cities with populations of over 5,000 and within urban boundaries established by the department and that are
 functionally classified, in accordance with federal requirements, as either arterials or major collectors and
 designated by the commission, in cooperation with local government authorities, as being on the urban highway
 system."
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         Section 5. Section 60-2-107, MCA, is amended to read:
         "60-2-107.   Abandonment of highways -- discontinuance of maintenance -- exchange of
 roadways -- public notice required. (1) Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, the The
 commission may abandon highways on the commission-designated highway systems and state highways
 pursuant to 60-4-209.
         (2)      Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, before Before abandoning or discontinuing
 maintenance on a highway, the commission shall hold a public hearing in the county or counties affected by the
 abandonment. The commission may elect to offer to transfer the liability for and the maintenance of a highway
 to another agency or agencies that may in turn elect to take responsibility for the highway. The commission
 shall notify the board of county commissioners in writing of its intent to abandon a highway and hold a public
 hearing. The commission shall publish for 3 consecutive weeks in local newspapers within the county the notice
 of abandonment and public hearing.
         (3)      Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, the The commission may enter into an
 agreement with a unit of local government, on mutually beneficial terms, to exchange property interests or
 responsibilities, including maintenance, on any portion of a commission-designated highway system or state
 highway and on any portion of a county road or city street.
         (4)      The commission may not abandon a highway, road, or right-of-way used to provide existing
 legal access to public land or waters, including access for public recreational use as defined in 23-2-301 and as
 permitted in 23-2-302, unless another highway, road, or right-of-way provides substantially the same access.
         (5)      The commission may not abandon a highway, road, or right-of-way used to access private land<