§ 90-4-1305 — Elements Of Program Plan -- Contract Requirements

90-4-1305 . Elements of program plan -- contract requirements. (1) Prior to establishing a program in accordance with 90-4-1306 , the authority shall prepare a program plan. Subject to subsections (2) through (4), the program plan must include:
(a) provisions for marketing the program and providing participant education;
(b) the types of energy conservation projects or public safety and resiliency improvement projects that may be financed under the program;
(c) options for raising capital to finance energy conservation projects or public safety and resiliency improvement projects under the program. Options may include but are not limited to owner-arranged financing from a commercial lender. If owner-arranged financing is used, the governing body may impose an assessment pursuant to 90-4-1307 and make payments to the authority, and the authority will distribute those payments to the commercial lender.
(d) quality assurances and antifraud measures;
(e) minimum requirements for a contractor to complete an energy conservation project or public safety and resiliency improvement project;
(f) clearly defined work standards for contractors;
(g) contractor management systems and procedures designed to monitor contractor performance and to manage, track, and resolve consumer complaints; and
(h) a description of the proposed financial arrangement and contract terms between the local government and record owners pursuant to subsection (3).
(2) (a) A program plan for energy conservation projects must include an energy analysis completed by a third party to determine cost and energy savings.
(b) Energy savings calculations and analysis completed in accordance with subsection (2)(a) must be completed by a licensed or certified building professional approved by the authority.
(c) When an energy conservation project is completed, the contractor who completed the project shall submit written verification to the authority that the energy conservation project was properly installed and is operating as intended.
(3) A proposed financial arrangement must be included in a program plan in accordance with subsection (1)(c) and must include:
(a) application, administration, or other program fees that will be charged to record owners participating in the program that will be used to finance costs incurred by the authority, local government, or both as a result of the program;
(b) a requirement that a contract between the governing body and a record owner is invalid and unenforceable unless the holder of a mortgage, trust indenture beneficiary, or loan servicer provides the governing body with each of the following:
(i) an executed subordination agreement, properly notarized and executed within 3 months prior to the application for a contract;
(ii) a record of the subordination agreement from the office of the county clerk and recorder in the county where the property is located; and
(iii) a secretary's certificate or substantially similar certification that the person who executed the subordination agreement is authorized to sign such an agreement on behalf of the mortgage holder, trust indenture beneficiary, or loan servicer; and
(c) a model contract between a governing body and a record owner containing the terms and conditions of financing and an assessment that meets the requirements of 90-4-1307 under the program. The model contract must include full disclosure of costs, including the effective interest rate of the assessment in accordance with 90-4-1307 , any administrator fees, the estimated payment schedule, and the placement of a lien on the real property.
(4) (a) Prior to a local government and a record owner for a commercial property-assessed capital enhancements project entering into a contract under a program established pursuant to 90-4-1306 , the authority shall obtain independent verification from the record owner that the record owner understands and accepts the terms of the contract and shall make the verification available to the local government.
(b) The contract must allow the record owner to cancel the contract within 3 business days of signing the contract.
(c) The contract must include full disclosure that by entering into the contract, the record owner may incur a property tax lien on the real property included under the contract.
(5) The contract must include requirements that contractors and any subcontractors use a skilled and trained workforce. Contracts signed must require contractors and subcontractors to give preference to the employment of bona fide Montana residents, as defined in 18-2-401 , in the performance of the projects, if the Montana residents have substantially equal qualifications to those of nonresidents.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 5, Ch. 444, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 406, L. 2025.