The Montana State Legislature is made up of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Constitution of Montana limits the size of the Senate to no fewer than 40 and no more than 50 members and the size of the House of Representatives to no fewer than 80 and no more than 100 members. Each house is responsible for choosing its officers, creating committees and establishing its own rules. The Montana Legislature meets for 90 days every odd numbered year, beginning the first Monday in January, or the following Wednesday if the first Monday is New Years Day. The first State Legislature convened on November 23, 1889, fifteen days after Montana became a state. Each following Legislature has been numbered sequentially.
The 15th Montana Legislature met from January 1st to March 1st, 1917, with an Extraordinary Session held February 14th to 25th, 1918. The leaders of the Senate were W.W. McDowell (D-President), and John Edwards (R-President Pro Tempore). The leaders of the House were Jas. F. O'Connor (D-Speaker), and Thomas Kehoe (D-Speaker Pro Tempore).
Sources:
The Montana 15th Legislative Assembly records consist of Regular and Extraordinary Sessions. The Regular Session records include correspondence from the Dorcas Ladies' Aid Society and the Women's Christian Temperance Union, both of Butte, opposing legalization of prostitution; Senate Bill 91 regarding strengthening definition of "alcohol" in intoxicating liquor laws; and a Resolution honoring Buffalo Bill Cody. The Extraordinary Session includes the records of the High Court of Impeachment hearing the case of Charles L. Crum, judge of the 15th Judicial District, including affidavits, articles of impeachment, proceedings including
The collection is organized into two series, Regular Session and Extraordinary session.
The series Regular Session is organized into three subseries, House of Representatives (arranged chronologically), Senate Bills (arranged numerically), and Resolutions.
The series Extraordinary Session is organized into one subseries, Impeachment Proceedings, Charles L. Crum (arrnaged alphabetically).
Collection is open for research.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
[item description and date]. Montana Legislative Assembly (15th: 1917-1918) records, 1917-1918. Legislative Records 15. [box and folder number]. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Archives. Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
Bill Summers processed the collection in 1988
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.