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 2nd Montana Legislature met from January 5th to March 5th, 1891. The leaders of the Senate were John Rickards (R-President), and William Thornton (D-President Pro Tempore). The leaders of the House were Harry Comly (D-Speaker), and R.G. Humber (D-Speaker Pro Tempore).
Sources:
Records of the Montana 2nd Legislative Assembly consist of the Senate Committee to Examine the State Penitentiary; reports of House standing and special committees; House resolutions concerning the union of the two halves of the House of Representatives and fees for county officers; reports of Senate special committees; reports of the joint committee on the World's Columbian Exposition; and miscellany, including an agreement between the State and Frank Conley and Thomas McTague to operate the State Prison.
The collection is organized into four series, House and Senate Joint Committees, House of Representatives, Senate, and Miscellany.
The series House and Senate Joint Committees is organized into the subseries Committee Reports (arranged alphabetically).
The series House of Representatives is organized into three subseries, Committee Reports (arranged alphabetically by committee name and thereunder chronologically), House Bills (arranged numerically by bill number), and House Resolutions (arranged numerically by bill number).
The series Senate is organized into three subseries, Committee Reports (arranged alphabetically by committee name and thereunder chronologically), Senate Bills (arranged numerically by bill number), Senate Resolutions (arranged numerically by bill number), and Senate Memorials (arranged numerically by bill number).
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 (2nd: 1891) records, 1890-1891. Legislative Records 2. [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.