§ 131-h. Separate highway districts in certain counties. The board may
establish separate highway districts in counties containing more than
three hundred thousand acres of unimproved unoccupied forest lands, for
the purpose of constructing highways through such lands; such highway
districts to be established upon the application of the owners of more
than one-half to the non-resident lands therein. Any such highway
district shall consist of contiguous tracts or parcels of land, and may
include parts of one or more towns; and they may be changed, altered or
abolished at any time by the board. Such board may appoint one or more
commissioners to lay out and construct such highways in any such
district, and prescribe the powers and duties, and direct the manner in
which highway taxes shall be assessed, levied and collected upon the
lands within the district, and the manner of expenditure thereof.

If obligations should be issued on behalf of the district, the board
may, for the purpose of repaying such loan, set aside and appropriate
the highway taxes upon such lands, for a period not exceeding ten years
from the time of making such loan.

The board may, upon the application of the owners representing a
majority in value, as shall be ascertained from the last annual
assessment-roll of the real estate lying along the line of any highway,
laid out through unimproved lands, in cases not provided for in the last
preceding section, authorize the appropriation of the non-resident
highway tax on the lands lying along such line, for the improvement of
such highways.

The board may direct the expenditure of any non-resident highway or
bridge tax, set apart by an act of the legislature, in counties wherein
such non-resident lands are situated, when the official life of
commissioners appointed to receive and expend such taxes has expired.