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 16th Montana Legislature met from January 6th to March 6th, 1919. The leaders of the Senate were W.W. McDowell (D-President), and John Edwards (R-President Pro Tempore). The leaders of the House were O.W. Belden (R-Speaker), and Ronald Higgins (R-Speaker Pro Tempore).
Sources:
The records of the Montana 16th Legislative Assembly consist of reports of Special Joint Committee to Investigate the Various Departments of the State Government, and the Special Committee to Investigate the Cost and Selling Price of Articles of Merchandise and Commodities and the Cost of Production and the Selling Price to the Consumer; Senate bills; and miscellany including subject files on contested elections for Silver Bow County House Seats between Charles Boulware, Hugh S. Carroll, Arthur V. Corry, John J. Foley, Jerry Herrington, Dan M. Kelly, Don B. King, William Meyer, and E.T. Mooney (includes "Short Memorandum Indicating Briefly and Very Generally the Nature of Contestants' Contentions"; and an index to witness testimony).
The collection is organized into three series, House and Senate Joint Committee Reports (arranged alphabetically), Senate Bills (arranged numerically), and Subject Files (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 (16th: 1919) records, 1919. Legislative Records 16. [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.