Archives West Finding Aid

The state Legislative Assembly created the Montana State Highway Commission in 1913. The original Commission was composed of three members. In 1917, new legislation altered the organization of the Commission by authorizing the appointment of twelve members according to geographic highway districts. Membership changed again in 1921 to three members appointed by the Governor and in 1941 to five members, also appointed by the Governor. Through an executive order empowered by the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971, Governor Forrest Anderson’s administration renamed the Montana Highway Department as the Montana Department of Highways and, without changing the Commission’s composition, centered highway development as the Commission's primary responsibility. In 1991, the state legislature rebranded the Montana Department of Highways as the Montana Transportation Department while leaving the Commission unchanged. The 1995 state legislature, however, renamed the Montana State Highway Commission as the Montana Transportation Commission and broadened the Commission’s responsibilities beyond highways.