Montana Title 81. Livestock § 81-7-115. Duty of county clerk

(1) The county clerk shall, on receipt of each certificate, file the certificate in the order in which it is received and safely keep it until the arrival of the skin or skins mentioned in the certificate. On receipt of the skin or skins, the county clerk shall call upon either the county treasurer or, in the treasurer's absence, the clerk of the district court who, with both present in order to prevent fraud, shall examine each scalp or mountain lion lower jaw skin. If the examination discloses that the scalps or lower jaw skins agree with the number and kind of scalps or lower jaw skins mentioned in the certificate, the county clerk shall, in the presence of the treasurer or clerk of the district court, destroy the scalps or lower jaw skins by fire.

(2) The county clerk shall then make out and deliver to the person named in that certificate a second certificate showing the statement of the facts contained in the certificate to the sheriff, undersheriff, or deputy sheriff, with the additional statement of the examination made by the clerk and that the clerk found the scalps or lower jaw skins to agree with the number and kind mentioned in the certificate of the sheriff, undersheriff, or deputy sheriff. A bounty certificate may not be issued by the county clerk for more scalps or lower jaw skins than are actually received and counted.

(3) For each scalp or skin of a mountain lion lower jaw accounted for, the county clerk must receive the sum of 5 cents to be paid quarterly by the state treasurer out of the bounty fund.

(4) The county clerk shall keep a record of all certificates received and issued, showing the date and description of the number and kind of hides and the names of the persons presenting the hides, and this record is an official record. County clerks are required to send a report and statement to the department on or before the 20th of each month.