Montana bill would let homeowners form road maintenance districts if county discontinues service

HELENA — A bill introduced in the Montana House would let homeowners form a road maintenance district without the county commission’s approval after the county publicly announces it intends to stop maintaining certain roads, sponsor Rep. John Fitzpatrick said during a House Local Government Committee hearing.

Supporters from the Georgetown Lake area told the committee they want a path to maintain roads now handled under a maintenance agreement between Granite County and the U.S. Forest Service. Opponents — including county attorneys and multiple county commissioners — argued the measure would conflict with existing state statutes, strip county discretion and could drain county road funds.

Rep. John Fitzpatrick, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure narrowly targets situations where a county publicly declares it will discontinue maintenance on roads it does not own. “This bill is very narrowly… it allows a group of homeowners the right to form a road maintenance district without the consent of the county commission only after the county makes an announcement that they plan to discontinue road maintenance services,” Fitzpatrick said. He emphasized the bill applies only to roads owned by another entity — for example, Forest Service roads — and not to county-owned roads.

The bill would require petitions signed by 66% of properties in a proposed…