Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 60. HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION

CHAPTER 4. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY

Part 2. Disposition of Property

Conduct Of Sale

60-4-203. Conduct of sale. (1) Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, the department shall publish notice of the sale once a week for 4 successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which the interest is located and on the department's website. The sale may be held in person in the county where the property is located or through an online auction.

(2) The notice of sale must contain:

(a) the day, date, and time of the beginning of the sale;

(b) a list of all the tracts to be offered for sale with the legal description, which includes the township and range, section number, and subdivision, or reference to the block and lot if surveyed;

(c) the number of acres in unplatted lands;

(d) the appraised value per acre and the appraised value of each lot;

(e) a quarter section listing of nonirrigable farm lands, with grazing lands listed in larger tracts not exceeding one section;

(f) a consecutive series of sales numbers for advertised tracts, if appropriate; and

(g) the terms and conditions of the sale and any additional information the department considers useful.

(3) Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, before the sale of an interest having a value in excess of $10,000, the department must have the interest appraised at a price representing a fair market value. The appraised value must be stated in the published notice.

(4) Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, a sale of an interest may not be made unless it has been appraised within 6 months prior to the date of the sale. A sale may not be made for less than 90% of the appraised value.

(5) Except as provided in 60-4-213 through 60-4-218, title to an interest may not pass from the state until the purchaser has paid the full amount of the purchase price into the state treasury to the credit of the department.

History: En. Sec. 8-111, Ch. 197, L. 1965; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 21, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 134, Ch. 316, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 32-3911; amd. Sec. 20, Ch. 23, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 305, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 232, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 279, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 226, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 170, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 88, L. 2021.