Mont. Code Ann. § 17-1-507

17-1-507 . Principles of revenue dedication. (1) It is the policy of the legislature that a revenue source not be dedicated for a specific purpose unless one or more of the following conditions are met:

(a) The person or entity paying the tax, fee, or assessment is the direct beneficiary of the specific activity that is funded by the tax, fee, or assessment; the entire cost of the activity is paid by the beneficiary; and the tax, fee, or assessment paid is commensurate with the cost of the activity, including reasonable administrative costs.

(b) There is an expectation that funds donated by a person or entity will be used for a specified purpose. Grants from private or public entities are considered donations under this subsection.

(c) There is a legal basis for the revenue dedication. A legal basis is a constitutional mandate, federal mandate, or statutory requirement in which a source of funds is designated for a specific purpose.

(d) There is a recognized need for accountability through a separation of funding from the general fund consistent with generally accepted accounting principles.

(2) The total funding for a program is a legislative budget and policy issue for which a dedicated revenue provision may not be justified if:

(a) a general fund appropriation is needed to supplement the dedicated revenue support for the program or activity; or

(b) dedicating a revenue source or portion of a revenue source diverts funds that could be considered a general revenue source.

(3) In the consideration of the general appropriations act for each biennium, the legislature shall determine the appropriateness of dedicating revenue to a program or activity under conditions described in subsection (2). The office of budget and program planning shall describe the occurrence in its presentation of the executive budget, and the legislative fiscal analyst shall highlight the issue in the budget analysis and for the appropriations subcommittee considering the revenue dedication.