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 4th Montana Legislature met from January 7th to March 7th, 1895. The President of the Senate was Alexander Botkin (R). The Speaker of the House was Wilbra Swett (R).
Sources:
The Records of the 4th Legislative Assembly consist of reports of House standing and select committees; reports of special joint committees; correspondence from Governor J.E. Rickards; and petitions (re support and opposition to H.B. 110, to add a tract of Madison County to Gallatin County; supporting Sunday closing laws for barbers; supporting the creation of a new judicial district to be composed of Teton and Flathead Counties).
The collection is organized into four series, House and Senate Joint Committee (arranged alphabetically), House of Representatives Select and Standing Committee Reports (arranged alphabetically), General Correspondence (arranged chronologically), and Miscellany (arranged 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 (4th: 1895) records, 1895. Legislative Records 4. [box and folder numbers]. 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 Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.