Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-163

Opinion No. 163 lUotOl' Vehicles - Trucks - }<'OI'eign TI'ucl{s-License, HELD: Foreign motor vehicles op- erated on :Montana highways in gainful occupation or business enterprise must have Montana motor vehicle licenses, April 22, 1933. You ha,e requested my opinion as to whether trucks owned by the Sheridan Brewing Company of Sheridan, Wy- oming, and used by said company in transporting their own beverages to towns and cities in Montana over Mon- tana highways must obtain a Montana license. Under Chapter 121, Laws of 1929, Hection 7, only foreign trucks operated on highways in this sta te for compensa- tion or profit were required to ha\'e a :\Iontana license, 'l'his section, however, was amended hy Hection 7, Chapter 126, Laws of 1U33, so that it now reads: "Before a ny foreign licensed motor vehicle shall be operated on the highways of this state for compensation or profit, 01' the owner thereof is using the ve- hicle while engaged in gainful occupa- tion 01' business enterprises, in the State of !\Iontana, including highway work, the same shall be registered and licensed in this sta te in the same man- ner as is required in the case of domes- tic owned vehicles of similar character * • *." Under this provision of the statute it appears to be the intent of the legis- lature that no foreign truck shall oper- ate within the State of :Montana in a gainful occupation until same shall have been duly licensed in the same manner as is required of a state-owned truck, In view of this express provi- sion of the statute it is my opinion that trucks owned and operated as above stated must haye a Montana li- cense.