Montana Code 61-11-102. Records to be kept by department
61-11-102. Records to be kept by department. (1) Except as provided in subsection (8), the department shall create and maintain a central database of electronic files that includes an individual Montana driving record for each person:
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-11-102
- CDLIS driver record: means the electronic record of a person's commercial driver's license status and history stored as part of the commercial driver's license system established under 49 U. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
- Commercial motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the vehicle:
(i)has a gross combination weight rating or a gross combination weight of 26,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater, inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;
(ii)has a gross vehicle weight rating or a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater;
(iii)is designed to transport at least 16 passengers, including the driver;
(iv)is a school bus; or
(v)is of any size and is used in the transportation of hazardous materials. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Motor carrier: means a person or corporation or its lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by a court that are operating motor vehicles on a public highway in this state for the transportation of property for hire on a commercial basis. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Motor vehicle: means :
(i)a vehicle propelled by its own power and designed or used to transport persons or property on the highways of the state;
(ii)a quadricycle if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9; or
(iii)a golf cart only if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9 and is operated pursuant to 61-8-391 or by a person with a low-speed restricted driver's license. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Nonresident: means a person who is not a Montana resident. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Revocation: means the termination by action of the department of a person's driver's license, privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways, and privilege to apply for and be issued a driver's license for a period of time designated by law, during which the license or privilege may not be renewed, restored, or exercised. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Suspension: means the temporary withdrawal by action of the department of a person's driver's license, privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways, and privilege to apply for or be issued a driver's license for a period of time designated by law. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highways for purposes of travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101
(a)who has been issued a Montana driver‘s license;
(b)who does not have a driver’s license from, or active driving record in, another jurisdiction and for whom the department receives a report of conviction of a traffic violation or an offense requiring suspension or revocation of the person’s driver’s license; and
(c)whose driver’s license or driving privileges have been suspended, revoked, canceled, or otherwise withdrawn by the department.
(2)An individual Montana driving record maintained under this section must include:
(a)personal information obtained from the application for a driver’s license or a report of conviction;
(b)the person’s driver’s license number, license type, status, endorsements, restrictions, issue and expiration dates, and any suspensions, revocations, disqualifications, or cancellations that have been imposed against the person;
(c)all convictions reported to the department for the person; and
(d)traffic accidents in which the person was involved, except that 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.
(3)(a) The department shall create and maintain a CDLIS driver record for each person who has been issued a Montana commercial driver’s license or for whom a record of conviction, disqualification, or other licensure action has been taken for violations of any state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic regulation, other than a parking violation, committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle.
(b)A CDLIS driver record maintained by the department must meet the requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 384.225.
(c)If the department receives notice that a person has been disqualified by the federal motor carrier safety administration the department shall record the suspension or revocation on the CDLIS driver record.
(4)The department shall retain records created under this section for a period of time that meets or exceeds the standards established under 49 CFR, part 384.
(5)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, by electronic or other means, a report of the conviction to the motor vehicle administrator in the state in which the person is a resident or licensed.
(6)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.
(7)(a) Except as provided in subsection (7)(b), 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 department certifies the record.
(b)An order, record, or paper generated from the department’s central database of electronic files of individual Montana driving records may be certified electronically by the generating computer. The certification must be a certification of the order, record, or paper as it appeared on a specific date.
(c)A court, an office of a clerk of court, or an attorney licensed to practice law in this state may receive and use a computer-generated individual Montana driving record as evidence without further foundation when:
(i)the individual Montana driving record is electronically transmitted from the department’s central database of electronic individual Montana driving records to a department-authorized terminal device maintained by the court, the office of the clerk of court, or the attorney; and
(ii)the judge, an officer of the court, or the attorney certifies that the record was not altered in any way.
(8)Except as provided in subsection (4), the department may destroy any individual Montana driving record maintained under this section if there are no suspensions or revocations on the record and there has been no renewed credential in the immediately preceding 16 years.