(1) For purposes of section 87-2-803 , MCA and this section the following definitions apply:

(a) "Disabled person" means:

(i) a person suffering from a condition medically determined to be permanent and substantial, and resulting in significant impairment of the person's functional ability and specifically includes amputation, blindness, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, deafness, heart disease, hemiplegia, respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction, mental retardation, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, neurological disorders (including stroke and epilepsy), paraplegia, quadriplegia, other spinal cord conditions, and renal failure; or

(ii) a person who, because of lack of social competence, mobility, experience, skills, training or other successful characteristics, is in need of and is receiving sheltered employment or work activities services in a protective setting.

(b) "Nonambulatory" means, with respect to a disabled person, permanently physically reliant on a wheelchair or similar remedial appliance or device for mobility.

(c) "Permanently physically handicapped person" means disabled person as defined in subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section except for persons due to mental retardation or mental illness.

(d) "Public highway" means public highway as defined in 61-1-202 , MCA, other than a state or federal highway.

(e) "Right of way" means land acquired for or devoted to highway purposes, if known; or the lands extending from the road surface to bordering fencelines or to a line 30 feet from the centerline on each side of the roadway, whichever is less.

(f) "Substantially impaired mobility" means, with respect to a disabled person, virtual inability to move on foot due to permanent physical reliance on crutches, canes, prosthetic appliances or similar remedial appliance or device.

(2) The department will provide application forms for disabled persons to submit to their Montana licensed physicians for certification of disability. Upon receipt of a completed application the department will issue a certification of disability.

(3) A disabled person who is a permanently physically handicapped person and who is nonambulatory, or whose mobility is substantially impaired, may apply in accordance with forms issued by the department for a permit to hunt from a vehicle.

(a) The application must contain:

(i) a copy of the applicant's certification of disability from the department;

(ii) either certification by a physician licensed to practice in the United States or the findings of a quasi-judicial body or other reliable certification as to the applicant's permanent physical handicap and nonambulatory condition or substantial physical impairment. The department may investigate any facts alleged in an application. If an application is sent through the mail, the applicant must include:

(A) the application form with physician's certification;

(B) his original conservation license;

(C) all hunting licenses and tags to be used under this rule.

(b) upon granting an application the department will endorse all licenses and tags issued to the applicant with the words "Permit to hunt from a vehicle."

(c) Provided that participation criteria for the program has not changed an applicant for renewal may obtain licenses at any authorized provider location.

(d) A disabled person who has obtained and is carrying a license stamped as provided for in (3)(b) may hunt by shooting a firearm:

(i) from the shoulder, berm or borrow pit right-of-way of a public highway;

(ii) from within a self-propelled or drawn vehicle parked on the shoulder, berm or borrow pit right-of-way, provided the vehicle is parked in such a way that it will not impede traffic or endanger motorists; or

(iii) from within a self-propelled or drawn vehicle parked in an area, other than a public highway, where hunting is permitted.

(e) A disabled person hunting as provided in (3)(d):

(i) must have obtained permission of the landowner to hunt big game on private land;

(ii) must be accompanied by a companion who is able to assist in immediately dressing any killed animal;

(iii) must conspicuously mark the front, rear, and side of the vehicle from which he is hunting with the international symbol of the handicapped, which the department will provide;

(iv) must comply with all other laws and regulations including the federal prohibition on hunting of migratory game birds from a motor vehicle; and

(v) may not shoot across a roadway.