Archives West Finding Aid

The Montana State Board of Examiners was established in compliance with Article VII, Section 20, of the 1889 Constitution. The initial responsibilities of the Board were to "examine the accounts of the State Treasurer, Supreme Court Clerks, District Court Clerks, and all County Treasurers, and Treasurers of such other public institutions as may be prescribed by law...." The Board was composed of the governor, the attorney general, and the secretary of state, but much of the day-to-day business was handled by the Board's staff.

Over the years the duties of the Board became more complex. The Board had the power - undefined in the constitution - to examine all claims against the state, except salary compensation of officers fixed by law. As a result, in addition to its constitutional responsibilities, the Board also provided for the construction, repair and alteration of all state buildings; secured and maintained adequate insurance on all state properties including buildings and contents, boiler insurance, insurance on vehicles, and other miscellaneous insurance policies; examined all unsettled claims against the state and submit the same to the Legislative Assembly with recommendations; allocated and furnished office space for all departments of state government, and supervised the Capitol custodian.

Among the claims reviewed by the Board of Examiners were those presented for payment as a result of the state's bounty on predators. The bounty grew out of intense lobbying by Montana's cattle industry, which began to pressure the legislature for a bounty as early as 1888. The Board of Cattle Commissioners joined in the lobbying effort and the second session of the 1891 Legislative Assembly passed a predator control bounty. By 1918, the state had paid out $2,091,911 in bounty claims. Because the large number of claims exhausted the state's ability to pay, there developed a waiting period between the time of the claim's submission and the payment. As a result, lending institutions and private individuals bought bounty certificates from trappers and hunters, anticipating a profit on the interest paid on the assigned claims by the state. The Board of Examiners had direct control and supervision over the Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium at Galen; the Montana State Hospital at Warm Springs; the Montana State Prison at Deer Lodge; and the Montana State Home for the Senile Aged in Lewistown.

In connection with these, the Board of Examiners served ex officio as the State Board of Prison Commissioners and the Board of Commissioners for the Insane. The Board also was involved in purchasing supplies for the various state agencies. The Board advertised for bids for the institutions, which were then received by the local boards of the respective institutions. Each local board reviewed the bids and selected the best, and reported to the Board of Examiners, which in turn approved or disapproved their action. After the contract was awarded, the supplies were ordered by the local board or the manager of the institution, who checked on the quantities delivered, approved the claim, and sent the claim to the Board of Examiners. The Board rechecked the claim and pass it to the state auditor for payment. The three exceptions to this system were the contracts for coal, printing, and office supplies for all state departments and institutions, which contracts were handled entirely by the Board.

Until the early 1960s, the Board was charged with central fiscal control for state government, though through the years these statutory functions were gradually removed from the jurisdiction of the Board. In 1951, the Office of State Controller was established and given authority to oversee the fiscal status of the state. It was not until 1961, however, that the duties of day-to-day fiscal control, such as accounting and expenditure reporting, for example, were transferred to the Controller's office. In 1963, a centralized Department of Administration was established to consolidate such functions as budgeting, accounting, and purchasing.

Though the statutory functions of the Board of Examiners were gradually removed from the Board's jurisdiction, as late as 1970 the responsibilities of the Board included numerous duties: procuring insurance on state-owned buildings and property; preparing and issuing travel permits to public employees and processing the subsequent claims; auditing or examining claims arising from travel of district court judges and in- and out-of-state transportation of prisoners; supervising the financing, administration and construction of buildings authorized by the state's Long Range Building Program; examining and making recommendations on the unliquidated claims presented to the state; approving the selection of most state employees and their respective salaries; maintaining contracts for repair and maintenance of House and Senate roll call and sound equipment; overseeing honoraria awarded by the Legislative Assembly for service to veterans and their survivors; and maintaining a current file on all prisoners in the Montana State Prison.

Following Executive Reorganization in 1971 and the Constitution of 1972, many of the duties assumed by the Board of Examiners were transferred to other divisions of the Department of Administration. The Board, nevertheless, continued to function as an administrative panel to oversee expenditure of state funds and procedural integrity in certain legislatively designated areas. For example, under the Board's Examination and Review Program, the Board provided administrative decision making and support to state agencies in the construction, remodeling, and repair of state buildings costing over $10,000; issued and sold bonds as authorized by the legislature; and examined unliquidated claims against the state.

In its capacity as overseer of honoraria for Montana veterans, the Board of Examiners administered bonus programs for veterans of both the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Montana voters had passed Initiative No. 54, on November 7, 1950, establishing an honorarium for veterans of World War II to be funded by an excise tax on cigarettes. In 1957, the 35th Legislative Assembly amended Initiative No. 54 (Chapter 44, Sec. 2, b) to include veterans of the Korean conflict in the honorarium. The Veterans Adjusted Compensation Division, directed by Louis G. Boedecker, administered the disbursement of War Veterans Compensation Fund, under the supervision of the Board of Examiners. Following earlier precedence, the 43rd Legislative Assembly enacted legislation (H.B. 305, Chapter 288) providing for an honorarium to be paid to veterans of the Vietnam conflict. The Vietnam Compensation Bonus Division, directed by Michael G. Nick, was established to administer payments to eligible applicants.

As of 2024, the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Executive Secretary constitute the Board of Examiners, which is administratively connected to the Department of Administration. Its primary responsibility is to issue or sell bonds within the limits of the bond act.