The Montana Constitution Revision Commission was created by the state's 41st Legislative Assembly on April 1, 1969, to "conduct a detailed study of the Montana Constitution, [and] compile factual data on whether the constitution impairs effective state government." The Commission membership numbered sixteen with four each being appointed by the governor, the Supreme Court, the Senate Committee on Committees, and the speaker of the House. Senator John K. McDonald was chairman of the Commission and Representative James E. Murphy served as vice chairman. Dale A. Harris was administrative assistant and executive director for the Commission.
It was recommended by the Commission that a constitutional convention be called as the most desirable method for changing the constitution. In order to accomplish this, the Commission prepared a constitutional convention enabling act, Referendum 67, which was presented to the voters at the November 3, 1970, general election.
A public information program was initiated by the Commission to promote passage of Referendum 67. This included an advertising campaign, working with various organizations (such as the Montana Education Association and the League of Women Voters of Montana) around the state to pass resolutions supporting the referendum, and the creation of the Montana Constitutional Convention Committee. This Committee, chaired by James R. Felt of Billings, was a private organization which promoted a constitutional convention through a network of county committees.
Referendum 67 was approved by the electorate by a two-thirds vote and the 42nd Legislative Assembly adopted the enabling act. The constitutional convention was convened on November 29, 1971.
The Montana Constitution Revision Commission ceased to function on March 31, 1971.
The records of the Montana Constitution Revision Commission include general correspondence; interoffice correspondence among members of the Commission; financial records; minutes of Commission meetings; news releases; organizational materials such as objectives and member information; reports from the administrative assistant and the legislature; speeches and writings prepared by the Commission for use during the promotional campaign; subject files for the League of Women Voters, Montana Constitutional Convention Committee, Referendum 67 campaign, etc.; and miscellany including mailing lists, recommendations, resolutions and proclamations. Printed materials and artifacts were transferred to the Library and Museum respectively.
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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.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information 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