The Montana Constitution Collection

The Montana Constitution Collection is a project of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center and the Blewett School of Law. It contains a record of Montana’s constitutional history leading through the 1972 Constitutional Convention.

In the rush to ratify a constitution while political conditions were favorable to statehood, the 1889 Constitutional Convention largely readopted the 1884 Constitutional Convention, which in turn borrowed heavily from the 1876 Colorado Constitution. As Professors Larry Elison and Fritz Snyder explain, “The 1889 Constitution was enacted more as a tool to achieve statehood than to provide a well-thought-out structure of governance for the new state.” The chairman of that Convention, William Andrews Clark, expressed the delegates’ understanding that given the inevitable changes the new state would undergo, “[T]he genius and wisdom of our successors will eliminate, supplement, and amend” the text of the new constitution.

Eight decades took their toll on the 1889 Constitution’s utility for a changing state. The Constitution, and, therefore, state government, became increasingly rigid and unresponsive to the people. In response, Montana became the only state from the so-called “class of 1889” states admitted in that year (Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming), and the only state in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest, to adopt a second constitution.

The 1960s reapportionment revolution reallocated political power from rural areas to cities and towns under the principle of one-person, one-vote. In 1967 the reconstituted Legislature commissioned a report “to determine if [the 1889 Constitution] is adequately serving the current needs of the people." The resulting Legislative Council Report concluded that just 48% of the sections in the 1889 Constitution were adequate in that they did not “present a major obstacle to effective government.” The 1969 Legislature responded to the Council’s work with the appointment of a Constitutional Revision Commission and a referendum on calling a constitutional convention. More than sixty-five percent of Montana voters approved the call for a Constitutional Convention in November 1970. The state elected 100 delegates to the Convention in November 1971. After three days of orientation after the elections, the delegates formally convened in Helena on January 17, 1972 and met for 54 days. The delegates signed the proposed constitution and adjourned on March 24, 1972. Just over half of Montanans voting on the new constitution ratified it in June 1972. All but the legislative apportionment provisions of the 1972 Constitution took effect on July 1, 1973.

The Convention record spreads across several sets of documents. A seven-volume set published in 1979 and 1981 by the Montana Legislative Council contains a core of materials: convention rules and personnel; committees and witness lists; delegate proposals and committee reports; and a verbatim transcript of floor debates and votes. Before the Convention, the professional staff of the Montana Constitutional Convention Commission collected and prepared a series of documents to inform the delegates: Papers containing primary sources and prior studies by the Legislative Council and Constitutional Revision Commission, Memos concerning the organization of a constitutional convention, and Studies of subject-matter areas likely to be addressed in a new constitution. This collection also includes several less prominent but important sources: committee minutes and testimony providing a source for several key proposals and debates, the original 1972 and subsequent voter information pamphlets explaining the plain meaning of provisions, and contemporaneous and more recent commentaries on the constitutional debates.

Adapted from Professor Anthony Johnstone's article: The Constitutional Initiative in Montana, 71 Mont. L. Rev. 325 (2010).

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Judiciary Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Judiciary Committee

This proposal was submitted by the Judiciary Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Minutes of the twenty-fourth meeting of the Local Government Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Local Government Committee

In this meeting the committee discussed comments to the majority proposal.
Minutes of the twelfth meeting of the Bill of Rights Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Bill of Rights Committee

In this meeting, the committee added final touches on their article.
Minutes of the twenty-seventh meeting of the Education and Public Lands Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Education and Public Lands Committee

In this meeting, the committee discussed section 8 and the trust and legacy fund.
Minutes of the twenty-second meeting of the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee

The subject of this meeting was preparation of the minority report.
Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee

This proposal was submitted by the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Revenue and Finance Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Revenue and Finance Committee

This proposal on constitutional revision was submitted by the Revenue and Finance Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Minutes of the thirty-fourth meeting of the Executive Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Executive Committee

The subject of this meeting was Delegate Felt's amendment.
General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee Proposal on General Government

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee

This proposal on general government was submitted by the General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Local Government Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Local Government Committee

This proposal was submitted by the Local Government Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Minutes of the twenty-fifth meeting of the Local Government Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Local Government Committee

In this meeting the committee prepared for the floor debate on the local government article.
Public Health, Welfare, Labor and Industry Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Public Health, Welfare, Labor and Industry Committee

This proposal was submitted by the Public Health, Welfare, Labor and Industry Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Minutes of a meeting of the Public Information Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Public Information Committee

In this meeting the committee heard reports from subcommittee chairmen.
Education and Public Lands Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Education and Public Lands Committee

This proposal was submitted by the Education and Public Lands Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Minutes of the thirty-fifth meeting of the Executive Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Executive Committee

The subject of this meeting was a discussion of Delegate Felt's proposed amendment.
Bill of Rights Committee Proposal

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Bill of Rights Committee

This proposal was submitted by the Bill of Rights Committee to the Montana Constitutional Convention.
Minutes of the thirty-sixth meeting of the Executive Committee

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Executive Committee

The subject of this meeting was a discussion of the format to be used in the floor debate.
Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Suffrage and Elections

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee

Revision to the General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee's proposal on suffrage and elections.
Thoughts from a committee chairman

C. Louise Cross

Thoughts from C. Louise Cross, chairman of the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee.
Report of Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission on Constitutional Revision

Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). Committee on Style, Drafting, Transition and Submission and Montana. Constitutional Convention (1971-1972). General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee

Revision to the General Government and Constitutional Amendment Committee's proposal on constitutional revision.