Fallon County Ex Rel. Board of Commissioners v. State, Department of Revenue

¶24 The Department of Revenue (DOR) has promulgated rules to *355regulate the establishment of tax increment financing districts (TIFDs) by local governments. Admin. R. M. 42.19.1401 through .1412 (2008). Notwithstanding the good sense embodied within DOR’s rules, a basic principle of administrative law has been violated: an agency may not engage in rulemaking, a quasi-legislative act, unless the Legislature specifically grants the agency such authority. Bell v. Dept. of Licensing, 182 Mont. 21, 22, 594 P.2d 331, 332 (1979) (quoting Anaconda Co. v. Dept. of Revenue, 178 Mont. 254, 257, 583 P.2d…