Administrative Rules of the State of Montana

BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

In the matter of the amendment of ARM 42.2.303 and 42.2.325 pertaining to meetings with department leadership, information access, and the department's acceptance of power of attorney requests

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT

TO: All Concerned Persons

1. On March 28, 2016, at 1:30 p.m., the Department of Revenue will hold a public hearing in the Third Floor Reception Area Conference Room of the Sam W. Mitchell Building, located at 125 North Roberts, Helena, Montana, to consider the proposed amendment of the above-stated rules. The hearing room is most readily accessed by entering through the east doors of the building facing Sanders Street.

2. The Department of Revenue will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this public hearing or need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, advise the department of the nature of the accommodation needed no later than 5 p.m. on March 14, 2016. Contact Laurie Logan, Department of Revenue, Director's Office, P.O. Box 7701, Helena, Montana 59604-7701; telephone (406) 444-7905; fax (406) 444-3696; or e-mail lalogan@mt.gov.

3. The rules proposed to be amended provide as follows, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:

42.2.303 APPOINTMENTS WITH DIRECTOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OR DIVISION ADMINISTRATORS (1) Any individual or group of individuals may make appointments to meet with the director, the deputy director, or division administrators regarding any matter of concern to those individuals and under the responsibility of the department. Such appointments may be made by contacting the Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 5805, Helena, Montana 59604-5805, telephone 444-6900, or toll-free outside of Helena (866) 859-2254.

AUTH: 15-1-201, 16-1-303, 16-10-104, 16-11-103, MCA

IMP: 2-3-101, 2-3-103, 2-3-111, 15-1-201, MCA

REASON: The department proposes amending ARM 42.2.303 as a matter of housekeeping to include the deputy director as a department representative that is available to meet with individuals or groups regarding matters of concern under the responsibility of the department. The update is proposed for both the rule content and the rule title.

42.2.325 ACCESS TO INFORMATION (1) The department files, other than those files required by law to be closed, are open to public inspection in accordance with established department policy. These files are located at various department offices in Montana. Copies of specific documents are available in accordance with department policy entitled, "Agency Documents - Access and Photocopying," 2.1.4, dated January 13 3, 2013.

(2) All requests for confidential tax returns or tax return information submitted by someone other than the taxpayer or an authorized agent of the taxpayer must be made to the department in writing directed to:

Department of Revenue

~~Legal Services Disclosure~~ Director's Security Office

P.O. Box 7701

Helena, MT 59604-7701.

(3) A taxpayer may authorize a representative to obtain the taxpayer's confidential tax information by completing and submitting the department's Power of Attorney form, ~~form~~ Form POA. The downloadable form is located on the department's web site at revenue.mt.gov. ~~under "forms and resources" "downloadable forms."~~ The department will also accept a fully executed Federal Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative ~~when section 3 of the Federal form entitled "tax matters" contains the type of tax, the form number with a reference to "Montana," and the tax years at issue~~.

(4) Except as provided in (5), when the department receives a written request for confidential tax return information from someone who is not statutorily authorized to receive it, the department's ~~Disclosure~~ Security Office will respond in writing ~~refusing~~ denying the request.

(5) and (6) remain the same.

AUTH: 2-4-201, 15-1-201, 15-7-306, 15-30-2620, 15-31-501, 16-1-303, 16-10-104, 16-11-103, MCA

IMP: Montana Constitution, Art. II, sections 8, 9, and 10, 2-3-101, 2-3-102, 2-3-103, 2-3-104, 2-3-105, 2-3-111, 2-3-112, 2-3-113, 2-3-114, 2-4-201, ~~2-6-102, 2-6-109, 2-6-110, 2-6-202~~ 2-6-1003, 2-6-1006, 2-6-1009, 2-6-1017, 15-1-106, 15-7-308, 15-7-310, 15-30-2618, 15-31-511, 15-38-109, 15-68-815, MCA

REASON: In order to comply with the Montana Uniform Power of Attorney Act, the department proposes amending ARM 42.2.325 to remove the requirement that federal power of attorney forms submitted to the department need to include a reference to Montana, the tax type, and the tax years at issue. Amending the rule will also expedite the department's processing time for the power of attorney requests it receives.

The department also proposes correcting the date on the policy referenced in (1), updating the name of the office that processes requests for information in (2) and (4), and removing all but the department's homepage web site address from (3) to prevent confusion should the specific location of the referenced document change as the web site evolves over time.

The department further proposes updating the implementing citations for the rule to correspond with updates made by the 2015 Legislature to Montana's public record laws, which included the repeal and replacement of numerous statutes in Title 2, chapter 6, MCA; and proposes adding another supporting statute for the rule, 15-7-308, MCA, which covers the confidentiality of Realty Transfer Certificates.

4. Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or arguments, either orally or in writing, at the hearing. Written data, views, or arguments may also be submitted to: Laurie Logan, Department of Revenue, Director's Office, P.O. Box 7701, Helena, Montana 59604-7701; telephone (406) 444-7905; fax (406) 444-3696; or e-mail lalogan@mt.gov and must be received no later than April 11, 2016.

5. Laurie Logan, Department of Revenue, Director's Office, has been designated to preside over and conduct this hearing.

6. The Department of Revenue maintains a list of interested persons who wish to receive notices of rulemaking actions proposed by this agency. Persons who wish to have their name added to the list shall make a written request that includes the name and e-mail or mailing address of the person to receive notices and specifies that the person wishes to receive notice regarding a particular subject matter or matters. Notices will be sent by e-mail unless a mailing preference is noted in the request. A written request may be mailed or delivered to the person in 4 above or faxed to the office at (406) 444-3696, or may be made by completing a request form at any rules hearing held by the Department of Revenue.

7. An electronic copy of this notice is available on the department's web site at revenue.mt.gov/rules. The department strives to make the electronic copy of this notice conform to the official version of the notice, as printed in the Montana Administrative Register, but advises all concerned persons that in the event of a discrepancy between the official printed text of the notice and the electronic version of the notice, only the official printed text will be considered. While the department also strives to keep its web site accessible at all times, in some instances it may be temporarily unavailable due to system maintenance or technical problems.

8. The bill sponsor contact requirements of 2-4-302, MCA, do not apply.

9. With regard to the requirements of 2-4-111, MCA, the department has determined that the amendment of the above-referenced rules will not significantly and directly impact small businesses. Documentation of this determination is available at revenue.mt.gov/rules or upon request from the person in 4.

/s/ Laurie Logan /s/ Mike Kadas

Laurie Logan Mike Kadas

Rule Reviewer Director of Revenue

Certified to the Secretary of State February 22, 2016