In 1963, the Legislature created the Department of Administration and made the State Controller chief executive and ex-officio State Purchasing Agent. As part of the Executive Reorganization Act passed in 1971, the Department of Administration was reconstituted and the title of state controller was changed to Director.
The Purchasing Division was created "to provide a centralized purchasing service for executive, judicial and legislative branch state agencies," in an effort to standardize quality and specifications, eliminate duplication, and receive lower costs through bulk purchasing. Division administrators included Laurie Ekanger (1982-1986) and Mike Muskiewicz (1986-1990). By 1981, the Division's functions were divided between the Purchasing Bureau, the Property and Supply Bureau, and the Publications and Graphics Bureau. The Purchasing Bureau investigated possible sources for products, determined alternate products, prepared specifications, and enforced the terms and conditions of contracts. The Bureau ensured compliance with purchasing laws and rules for agencies with delegated purchasing authority and provided technical assistance with their purchases.
The Property and Supply Bureau provided centralized purchasing and distribution of office and janitorial supplies for state agencies. It was also responsible for distributing federal surplus and disposing of state surplus property. The Publications and Graphics Bureau was responsible for producing and distributing standardized forms for state agencies, determining standards for copy machines and state copying contracts, and providing low cost printing and publishing services for state agencies.
In 1988, the Purchasing Division was renamed the Procurement and Printing Division. As of 2024, the Procurement and Printing Division is no longer active, and State printing responsibilities fall under the State Print & Mail office within the General Services Division.
Department of Administration Procurement and Printing Division records (1975-1995) consist of general and incoming correspondence, minutes, reports, subject files, and include four subgroups.
The Administrator's correspondence files (1982-1991), which form the bulk of the general correspondence series, deal primarily with state automation projects, goals and procedures development, personnel training, organizational structure, and policy implementation. Incoming correspondence (1982-1987) consists of scattered correspondence to the Procurement and Printing Division administration from other offices within the Department. The files usually contain materials on a specific project or topic. Minutes (1975-1988) include Administrator's meetings, Purchasing Division staff meetings, and supervisor's meetings. Also included are subject files (1981-1989) concerning cooperative purchasing, legal projects, Montana Procurement Act, purchasing procedures, state preference contracting, auto auctions and other topics, as well as quarterly reports (1984-1988, scattered).
The remaining records are divided into four subgroups: Purchasing Bureau; Property and Supply Bureau; Publications and Graphics Bureau; and Advisory Councils and Task Forces.
Purchasing Bureau records consist of general correspondence (1981-1991) divided by receiving office. The Bureau Chief correspondence (1983-1990) deals primarily with compliance reviews, complaints against contractors, procurement sources and staff development. The Purchasing Unit correspondence (1981-1991) consists of general files and files for specific purchasing agents. These files concern specific contracts, and rules clarification and enforcement. Also included are minutes (1984-1991) of Purchasing Agents and Bureau staff meetings. Property and Supply Bureau records consist of general correspondence (1982-1995) for the accountant, bureau chief, program specialists, and purchasing agents and supervisors. Correspondence deals primarily with the Central Stores and Surplus Property Programs. Also included are minutes (1988-1991) of staff meetings, and miscellany.
Publications and Graphics Bureau subgroup consists of scattered correspondence (1981-1985) and a report (1982) on the Division by Arthur E. Blumenthal. Advisory Councils and Task Forces subgroup consists of subject files (1979-1986). Records also contain minutes, drafts of reports, and related correspondence.
The collection is arranged by series.
Collection open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
This collection is a union of early correspondence files and later reader files. The first accession, which forms the bulk of the collection, had a filing code system that divided correspondence into general and incoming correspondence for Division administrators, and general correspondence for individual bureau chiefs and specific staff members. In addition separate subject files were maintained for advisory councils and special topics. All subsequent accessions were interfiled into this system.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Administration were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 493, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Administration's various Divisions and Bureaus that
were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information is available upon request.
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.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection