Montana Title 80. Agriculture § 80-4-506. Equity requirements

(1) Each licensee or applicant for a license shall maintain, above all exemptions and liabilities, total equity liable for the payment of any indebtedness arising from the conduct of the warehouse or warehouses of at least 40 cents per hundredweight of all agricultural commodities that the licensee's or applicant's warehouse or warehouses can accommodate.

(2) A person may not be licensed as a warehouse operator unless the person has and maintains allowable positive equity.

(3) Assets must be valued at original cost less depreciation, except that upon written request filed with the department, the director may allow asset valuations in accordance with a competent appraisal.

(4) In determining total equity, credit may be given for insurable property, such as buildings, machinery, equipment, and merchandise inventory, only to the extent that the property is protected by insurance against loss or damage by fire. The insurance must be in the form of lawful policies issued by one or more insurance companies authorized to do business and subject to service of process in suits brought in this state.

(5) If a warehouse operator is licensed or applies for licenses to operate two or more warehouses, the maximum number of hundredweight that all warehouses will accommodate must be considered in determining whether the warehouse operator meets the equity requirements specified in this section.