Montana Code Annotated 2003

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     61-11-102. Records to be kept by the department. (1) The department shall file every application for a driver's license received by it and shall maintain suitable indexes containing, in alphabetical order:
     (a) all applications denied and on each the reasons for denial;
     (b) all applications granted; and
     (c) the name of each licensee whose license has been suspended or revoked by the department and after each name the reasons for the action.
     (2) (a) The department shall also file all accident reports and abstracts of court records of convictions received by it under the laws of this state. The department shall maintain records in a manner that allows an individual record of each licensee, showing the convictions of the licensee and certain traffic accidents in which the licensee has been involved. The records must be readily ascertainable and available for the consideration of the department upon any application for renewal of a license and at other suitable times. A record of involvement in a traffic accident may not be entered on a licensee's record unless the licensee was convicted, as defined in 61-11-203, for an act causally related to the accident.
     (b) If the department receives notice that a licensee has been disqualified by the federal motor carrier safety administration as an imminent hazard under 49 CFR 383.52, the department shall record the disqualification on the licensee's record.
     (3) The department is further authorized, upon receiving a record of the conviction in this state of a nonresident driver of a motor vehicle of any offense under the motor vehicle laws of this state, to forward a certified copy of the record to the motor vehicle administrator in the state in which the person is a resident.
     (4) The department may photograph, microphotograph, photostat, or reproduce on film any of its records. The film or reproducing material must be durable, and the device used to reproduce the records on the film or material must accurately reproduce and perpetuate the original records. A photograph, microphotograph, photostatic copy, or photographic film of the original record is an original record for all purposes and is admissible in evidence in all courts or administrative agencies. A facsimile, exemplification, or certified copy of the original record is a transcript of the original for purposes stated in this section.
     (5) The department may place on a computer storage device the information contained on original records or reproductions of original records made pursuant to this section. Signatures on records are not required to be placed on a computer storage device.
     (6) A reproduction of the information placed on a computer storage device is an original of the record for all purposes and is admissible in evidence without further foundation in all courts or administrative agencies when the following certification by a custodian of the record appears on each page:
     The individual named below, being a designated custodian of the driver records of the department of justice, motor vehicle division, certifies this document as a true reproduction, in accordance with 61-11-102(6), of the information contained in a computer storage device of the department of justice, motor vehicle division.
     Signed:_________________________
     (Print Full Name)

     History: En. Secs. 25, 27, Ch. 267, L. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 31-141, 31-143(b); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 503, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 503, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 76, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 19, Ch. 428, L. 2003.

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