Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-337

Opinion No. 337 Warehouses-Co-operative Associa,tions --Seeds-License Fee-Bond HELD: Co-operative associations holding themselves out to the public as receiving agricultural seeds of any kind for storage for the public, must pay warehouse 'license fee and take out bond. September 14, 1933. You ha\'e requested my opinion wheth- er the Phillips County Co-operative Mar- keting ASSOciation, a non-profit, non- stock organization, should be required to take out a license and gb'e bond in order to comply with the provisions of the Agricultural Seed Warehouse Act. The correspondence enclosed does not definitelv disclose the exact character of the b'usiness done. In his letter of August 24, Mr. Lantz referred to "our alfalfa seed cleaning and warehouse plant." If the association operates a warehouse, as apparently it does. it would be required to pay the license fee and gi\'e the bond. pro\'ided it ope- rates a warehouse "whiC'h holds itself out to the public as receiying- agricul- tural seeds of any kind for storage for the public." Section 1. Chapter 50, Laws of H)2i provides: "That all persons. firm, co~ partnerships. corporations and associa- tions opera ting a ny public \Va rehouf'c or warehouses in this State and which hold themselves out to the public· as receiving agricultural seeds of any kind .for storage for the public. shall. ·on or before the first day of July of each ~'ear. pay to the State Treasurer of "Iontana .a license fee in the sum of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) * * *." The section quoted includes association~. Section 9 of the Act also uses .the words "co-operative associations". ("Co-opera- tiye associations or co-operative cor- pOl'ations, when licensed to handle ogri~ cultural seeds as herein provided * *:'.') It is therefore my opinion tila t if the Phillips County Co-operativc l\Iarke.t- ing Association holds itself out to .thc puhlic as receiving agricultural ;;e~ls of any kind for storage for the puhlic, alHl receiYes such seeds for storage. it must take out a license alHI give a bond in compliance "ith the provi.~i()ns of the Agricultural Seed 'Warehouse Act.