Montana Legislature

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Montana State Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
HousesSenate
House of Representatives
Term limits
Senate: 2 terms (8 years)
House: 4 terms (8 years)
Leadership
President of the Senate
Mark Blasdel, (R)
since January 4, 2021
President pro Tempore
Jason Ellsworth, (R)
since January 4, 2021
Senate Majority Leader
Cary Smith, (R)
since January 4, 2021
Wylie Galt, (R)
since January 4, 2021
House Majority Leader
Sue Vinton, (R)
since January 4, 2021
Structure
Seats150
  • 50 senators
  • 100 representatives
Senate political groups
  •   Republican (31)
  •   Democratic (19)
House of Representatives political groups
Length of term
Senate: 4 years
House: 2 years
Salary$90.64/day + per diem
Elections
Last Senate election
November 3, 2020
November 3, 2020
Next Senate election
November 8, 2022
November 8, 2022
RedistrictingMontana Districting and Apportionment Commission
Meeting place
Montana State Capitol, Helena
Website
www.leg.mt.gov

The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.[1]

The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet in regular session for no longer than 90 days in each odd-numbered year.[1] The primary work of the legislature is to pass a balanced biennial budget which must then be approved by the governor. If the governor vetoes a bill, the legislature may override the veto by a two-thirds vote.[1]

Since the beginning of statehood for Montana, the Legislature has been split along party lines fairly consistently and evenly. Since adoption of the current state constitution in 1972, which mandated single-member legislative districts for the first time in the state's history, the Montana Senate has been controlled by Democrats in 9 sessions and Republicans in 16 sessions.[2] During the same period, the Montana House has been controlled by Democrats in 8 sessions and Republicans in 15 sessions, with two ties. According to state law, in the instance of a tie, control goes to the party of the sitting governor. The 67th Legislature (2021–2022) is controlled by the Republican Party with the House having 67 Republican members and 33 Democratic members; the Senate has 31 Republican and 19 Democratic members.[2]

Members are limited to serving no more than eight years in either chamber, but the term limit is consecutive, not lifetime.[3]

The Montana State Legislature meets in the state capitol in Helena.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Montana Legislature: Organization". Montana Legislature. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Majority and Minority Party Numbers 1889 - Present". Montana Legislature.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Johnson, Charles (February 24, 2015). "State Senate committee tables proposed ballot measure to end term limits". Missoulian.

External links