Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 7 > Chapter 3 > Part 5 - Commission-Presiding Officer Government

• Agent: means a person who solicits the purchase of service contracts or transmits for another a service contract or application for a service contract to or from the company or who acts or aids in any manner in the delivery or negotiation of any service contract or of the renewal or continuance of a service contract. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorized agent: means a person who has executed a written agreement with the department and is specifically authorized by the department to electronically access and update the department's motor vehicle titling, registration, or driver records, using an approved automated interface, for specific functions or purposes on behalf of a third party. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Axle: means a transverse beam that is the common axis of rotation of one or more wheels and that, to receive credit for allowable total gross loading, must be capable of continuously transmitting a proportionate share of the total gross load to the roadway when the axle is in operation. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bus: means a motor vehicle designed for carrying more than 10 passengers and used for the transportation of persons and any other motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Buying and selling service: means any act or acts of a company whereby the holder of a service contract with the company is aided in any way in the purchase or sale of an automobile. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Camper: means a structure designed to be mounted in the cargo area of a truck or attached to an incomplete vehicle for the purpose of providing shelter for persons. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Certificate of title: means the paper record issued by the department or by the appropriate agency of another jurisdiction that establishes a verifiable record of ownership between an identified person or persons and the motor vehicle specifically described in the record and that provides notice of a perfected security interest in the motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Combination length: means the total length of a combination of vehicles, such as a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination, measured from the front bumper of the motor vehicle to the back bumper or rear extremity of the last trailer, including the connection tongues. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Combined trailer length: means the total length of a combination of trailers measured from the front of the first trailer, or the front bunk on a pole trailer, to the back of the last trailer, including the connection tongues and rear overhang. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Commission: means the state transportation commission. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of insurance of the state of Montana or the commissioner's assistants or deputies or other persons authorized to act for the commissioner. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Company: means any person, firm, partnership, company, association, or corporation engaged in selling, furnishing, or procuring, either as principal or agent, for a consideration, motor club service. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Conviction: has the meaning provided in 61-5-213 resulting from a violation of traffic regulations on highways in this state or a traffic statute or traffic regulation in another jurisdiction. See Montana Code 61-11-203
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Dealer: means a person that, for commission or profit, engages in whole or in part in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, or accepting on consignment new or used motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, travel trailers, motorboats, sailboats, snowmobiles, off-highway vehicles, or special mobile equipment that is not registered in the name of the person. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• department: means the department of transportation. See Montana Code 61-12-201
• Disclose: means to engage in any practice or conduct that makes available or known, by means of any communication to another person, organization, or entity, personal information contained in a motor vehicle record. See Montana Code 61-11-503
• Discount service: means any act or acts by a company resulting in the giving of special discounts, rebates, or reductions of price on gasoline, oil, repairs, insurance, parts, accessories, or service for motor vehicles to holders of service contracts with the company. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Emergency road service: means any act or acts by a company consisting of the adjustment, repair, or replacement of the equipment, tires, or mechanical parts of any automobile so as to permit it to be operated under its own power. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• 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.
• Express consent: means an affirmative authorization given in writing by a person to whom personal information pertains that specifically allows the department to release personal information to another person, organization, or entity. See Montana Code 61-11-503
• farmer: means a person who operates a farm or who is directly involved in the cultivation of land or crops or the raising of livestock owned by or under the direct control of that person;

  (ii)"gross combination weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a combination or articulated vehicle;

  (iii)"gross vehicle weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle; and

  (iv)"school bus" has the meaning provided in 49 C. See Montana Code 61-1-101

• Financial service: means any act or acts by a company whereby loans or other advances of money, with or without security, are made to holders of service contracts with the company. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• For hire: means an action performed for remuneration of any kind, whether paid or promised, either directly or indirectly, or received or obtained through leasing, brokering, or buy-and-sell arrangements from which a remuneration is obtained or derived for transportation service. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Gross vehicle weight: means the weight of a vehicle without load plus the weight of any load on the vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Habitual traffic offender: means any person who within a 3-year period accumulates 30 or more conviction points according to the schedule specified in subsection (2). See Montana Code 61-11-203
• Hazardous material: means :

  (a)any material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U. See Montana Code 61-1-101

• Highly restricted personal information: means an individual's photograph or image, social security number, or medical or disability information. See Montana Code 61-11-503
• housetrailer: has the meaning provided in 15-24-201. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Implement of husbandry: means a vehicle that is designed for agricultural purposes and exclusively used by the owner of the vehicle in the conduct of the owner's agricultural operations. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• 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.
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Legal service: means any act or acts by a company consisting of the hiring, retaining, engaging, or appointing of an attorney or other person to give professional advice to or represent holders of service contracts with the company in court as the result of liability incurred by the right of action accruing to the holder of a service contract as a result of the ownership, operation, use, or maintenance of a motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• length: means the total length of the vehicle combination beginning at the front of the front bumper of the truck or truck tractor and extending to the most distant end of the logs being hauled. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means any type of license or permit to operate a motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-11-203
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Manufacturer: includes any person engaged in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, travel trailers, motorboats, sailboats, snowmobiles, or off-highway vehicles as a regular business. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Map service: means any act or acts by a company by which road maps are furnished without cost to holders of service contracts with the company. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• 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 club service: means the rendering, furnishing, or procuring of towing service, emergency road service, insurance service, bail bond service, legal service, discount service, financial service, buying and selling service, theft service, map service, and touring service, or any three or more enumerated services to any person or persons in connection with the ownership, operation, use, or maintenance of a motor vehicle by the other person or persons in consideration of the other person or persons being or becoming a member or members of any company rendering, procuring, or furnishing the services, being or becoming in any manner affiliated with the company, or being or becoming entitled to receive membership or other motor club service from the company by virtue of any agreement or understanding with the company. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• 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

• Motorboat: means a vessel, including a personal watercraft or pontoon, propelled by any machinery, motor, or engine of any description, whether or not the machinery, motor, or engine is the principal source of propulsion. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• motortruck: means a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Nonresident: means a person who is not a Montana resident. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Off-highway vehicle: means a self-propelled vehicle designed for recreation or cross-country travel on public lands, trails, easements, lakes, rivers, or streams. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Operator: means a person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Owner: means each person who holds the legal title to a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
• 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
• Personal information: means information that identifies a person, including a person's name, address, telephone number, social security number, driver's license or identification number, date of birth, photograph or image, and medical or disability information. See Montana Code 61-11-503
• Personal watercraft: means a vessel that uses an outboard motor or an inboard engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than by the conventional method of sitting or standing in the vessel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Pole trailer: means a vehicle without power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable generally of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• public highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every publicly maintained way when any part of the publicly maintained way is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Record: includes all books, papers, photographs, photostats, cards, film, tapes, recordings, electronic data, printouts, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics. See Montana Code 61-11-503
• Recreational vehicle: includes a motor home, travel trailer, or camper. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Registration receipt: means a paper record that is produced and issued or, if authorized by the department, an electronic record that is transmitted by the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer to the owner of a vehicle that identifies a vehicle, based on information maintained in the electronic record of title for the vehicle, and that provides evidence of the payment of all fees required to be paid for the registration of the vehicle for the registration period indicated in the receipt. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• 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
• Roadway: means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Rocky Mountain double: means a combination of vehicles that includes a truck tractor pulling a long semitrailer and a shorter trailer. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Sailboat: means a vessel that uses a sail and wind as its primary source of propulsion. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Sell: means to transfer ownership from one person to another person or from a dealer to another person for consideration. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Semitrailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that some part of its weight and that of its load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Service contract: means any agreement or understanding whereby any company for a consideration promises to render, furnish, or procure for any other person or persons, whether they be members of the company or otherwise, motor club service. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Snowmobile: means a self-propelled vehicle of an overall width of 48 inches or less, excluding accessories, that is designed primarily for travel on snow or ice, that may be steered by skis or runners, and that is not otherwise registered or licensed under the laws of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Special mobile equipment: means a vehicle not designed for the transportation of persons or property on the highways but incidentally operated or moved over the highways, including road construction or maintenance machinery, ditch-digging apparatus, and well-boring apparatus. 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Steering axle: means an axle that pivots at the hub to allow the wheel to follow the travel of the vehicle. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Stinger-steered automobile transporter: means a truck tractor-semitrailer combination that has a fifth wheel on a drop frame located behind and below the rear axle of the truck tractor and that is designed and used for the transportation of vehicles. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Stinger-steered boat transporter: means a truck tractor-semitrailer combination that has a fifth wheel on a drop frame located behind and below the rear axle of the truck tractor and that is designed and used for the transportation of assembled boats or boat hulls. See Montana Code 61-10-104
• Street: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every publicly maintained way when any part of the publicly maintained way is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• 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
• Temporary registration permit: means a paper record:

  (a)issued by the department, an authorized agent, a county treasurer, or a person, using a department-approved electronic interface after an electronic record has been transmitted to the department, that contains:

  (i)required vehicle and owner information; and

  (ii)the purpose for which the record was generated; and

  (b)that, when placed in a durable license-plate style plastic pouch approved by the department and displayed as prescribed in 61-3-224, authorizes a person to operate the described motor vehicle, motorboat, sailboat that is 12 feet in length or longer, snowmobile, or off-highway vehicle for:

  (i)40 days from the date the record is issued or until the vehicle is registered under Title 23 or this title, whichever first occurs; or

  (ii)90 days from the date the record is issued for a permit issued pursuant to 61-3-303(4)(b). See Montana Code 61-1-101

• Theft service: means any act or acts by a company the purpose of which is to locate, identify, or recover a motor vehicle owned or controlled by the holder of a service contract with the company that has been or may be stolen or to detect or apprehend the person guilty of the theft. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Touring service: means any act or acts by a company by which touring information is furnished without cost to holders of service contracts with the company. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• Towing service: means any act or acts by a company consisting of the drafting or moving of a motor vehicle from one place to another under other than its own power. See Montana Code 61-12-301
• 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
• Traffic regulation: includes any provision governing motor vehicle operation, equipment, safety, or driver licensing. See Montana Code 61-11-203
• Trailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Truck tractor: means a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not constructed to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load drawn. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Under the influence: has the meaning provided in 61-8-1001. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Usual: means according to usage. See Montana Code 1-1-206
• 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
• Wholesaler: means a person that for a commission or with intent to make a profit or gain of money or other thing of value sells, exchanges, or attempts to negotiate a sale or exchange of an interest in a used motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, travel trailer, motorboat, snowmobile, off-highway vehicle, or special mobile equipment only to dealers and auto auctions licensed under chapter 4, part 1. See Montana Code 61-1-101
• Willfully: when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, means a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the omission referred to. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203