Revise rural improvement district laws to include maintenance of existing public improvements

Removed the requirement for a formal petition to create a district when all property owners waive their right to protest.

Explicitly authorized the creation of districts for the maintenance of existing public improvements.

Clarified that petitions are only required if there is a right to protest; otherwise, the board may act based on owner consent.

Removed the mandatory petition requirement when all property owners within the proposed district waive their right to protest the creation.

Lowered the consent threshold for creating special improvement districts for road maintenance from 85% to 50% of the property area.

Clarified that property outside residential subdivisions can be included in a district if the owner consents.

Added provisions allowing rural improvement districts to include properties inside city limits if a joint city-county resolution is passed and specific protest thresholds are met.

Removed the mandatory requirement for a petition to create a district when all property owners have waived their right to protest.

Updated the bill title and summary to explicitly mention the ability to create districts without a petition under specific conditions.

Reformatted the bill text to correct line breaks and ensure the title accurately reflects the substantive changes to the Montana Code Annotated.

The bill number was updated from LC 2532 to HB 159, and the sponsor was listed as A. Griffith.

A new requirement was added to the notice description, mandating that it identify public improvements that will be acquired by purchase, in addition to those being improved or maintained.