From 1864 to 1889, during Montana’s territorial period, the Governor was appointed by the President of the United States. Since statehood, the Governor has been elected by statewide election. The Office of the Governor was created in 1889, following Montana’s admittance into the union as a state, as provided for in the 1889 Montana Constitution, Articles IV and VII. Original powers and responsibilities granted to the Governor by the 1889 Constitution include: overall administration of state government, Commander-in-Chief of state militia, nominating and appointing officers to state offices, granting pardons, signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislative Assembly, ensuring that laws are “faithfully executed,” as well as being the official representative of the state in its relations with the United States and other state governments.
From 1909 to 1951, the State Accountant was responsible for budgetary matters for the state of Montana. The State Controller assumed those responsibilities from 1951 until 1959, when the Office of State Budget Director was created. This Office was eliminated in 1969, replaced by the Budget Division within the Department of Administration. In 1974, a passed law delegated all budgetary responsibilities to the Governor. The newly created Office of Budget and Program Planning assumed these responsibilities, headed by the Budget Director, appointed by the Governor. As of 2025, the Office of Budget and Program Planning continues assisting in the preparation of the state budget as part of the Governor’s Office.
In 1951, the Montana Legislature created the Office of the Montana State Coordinator of Indian Affairs (H.B. 221) to facilitate better relationships and communication between the tribes and state government. The Governor appointed the Coordinator from a list of five persons agreed upon by the tribal councils of the Indian tribes of Montana for a four-year term. Originally, the purpose of the Office was to analyze the conditions of Indians living on and off reservations, promote Indian welfare, advise the Legislature and Executive Branch on issues concerning American Indians, and act as an intermediary between state government and the tribes. As of 2025, the Office of Indian Affairs continues to operate as a liaison between the tribes and state government and to “[promote] economic development, environmental protection, education, support for social services, and enduring good will” (Office of the Governor, Indian Affairs).
In 1971, the Executive Reorganization Office (as part of the Governor's Office) carried out the work of amending numerous statutes to reflect the changes created by the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971. In June 1973, the duties of this Office transferred to the Government Operations Unit (GOU) directed by Richard L. Llewellyn. Governor Thomas Judge created the GOU, whose responsibilities included examining the organizational structures and functions of state agencies, in order to improve government efficiency. The functions of the Government Operations Unit were absorbed by the Office of Budget and Program Planning in late 1974.
In 1975, the Montana Legislature created the Mental Disabilities Board of Visitors to inquiry and review Montana’s public mental health programs and Intensive Behavior Center, ensuring that patient treatment is humane, consistent, and meets professional standards. The Board also provides legal and advocacy services to patients at the Montana State Hospital (Warm Springs). This Board continues to operate, as of 2025.
The General Appropriation Act of 1977 appropriated money for the Governor's Office to undertake treaty review and research of Indian Affairs in the State of Montana. In December 1977, the Governor's Office contracted with Historical Research Associates (HRA) of Missoula, Montana, to conduct research into treaties, statutes, and executive orders affecting Montana reservations. Particular emphasis was to be placed on those documents concerning reservation establishment and boundary delineation. A few months after the award of this contract, the Governor's Office expanded the project to issues involving Indian hunting and fishing rights. Following the compilation of documents involving boundary and/or fishing issues, staff researchers began an investigation of various annual reports of Indian agents in Montana. In June, 1979, the Governor's Office contracted with HRA to supervise the microfilming of all documents. That process was completed in October of 1980.
As of 2025, the Governor’s Office consists of the Office of Budget and Program
Planning, Office of Community Service, Office of Indian Affairs, Mental Disabilities
Board of Visitors, and Mental Health Ombudsman. To see a full list of offices and
staff, please visit the
This collection contains records from the various Offices, Boards, Units, etc. associated with the Montana Office of the Governor. The Montana Office of the Governor records were integrated under one collection number to help facilitate access and reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog.
To learn more detail about the records in each subgroup, please click on the links below in the arrangement section to be redirected to those finding aids.
This subgroup contains the records from the sub-subgroup, Executive Orders
(1971-2004). This collection consists of executive orders from the Governor. The
bulk of the orders are from 1981 through 2004 and include a contents sheet for each
year. Also included are a few scattered orders from 1971 through 1979. To see recent
executive orders issued, please visit the
This subgroup contains records from the Office of Budget and Program Planning (1961-1978). Records consist of general correspondence, interoffice correspondence, news releases, organizational materials, reports, speeches, subject files, and miscellaneous. The general correspondence is largely outgoing, with a substantial portion from the Governor. The correspondence discusses agencies' budgets and requests, fiscal policy and procedures, relevant legislation, and special projects. The interoffice correspondence discusses similar topics.
The press releases consist of miscellaneous items, including the breakdown of expenditures, appropriations for Highway Patrol, public school funding, etc. The organizational materials include agency charts and position descriptions. The reports consist of reviews of the agency's work for the fiscal year. The three speeches concern the general work of the agency, state revenue, and budget agency policy. The subject files concern special studies which the Office of Budget and Program Planning undertook, usually in conjunction with other state agencies. The miscellany series contains blank budget forms and some unidentified writings chiefly concerning taxes in Montana.
This subgroup consists of records from the Office of Indian Affairs (1948-1971). Records consist of correspondence, subject files, financial records, organizational materials, reports, and clippings.
General correspondence discusses education, tribal industries, housing, legislation, statistics, personal problems of tribal members, meetings, donations to the tribes, etc. The financial records contain information about the budget of the Coordinator. Organizational materials include a description of the Coordinator's goals and duties, as well as a criticism of a proposed State Indian Commission. The subject files comprise the bulk of the collection and include information on all the reservations and many Indian organizations and programs.
This subgroup contains records from the Mental Disabilities Board of Visitors (1976)
which is administratively attached to the Governor’s Office. Records consist of the
first annual report (1976) of the Board to the Governor. Included in the report are
bylaws, correspondence with institutions, reports of visits to Warm Springs State
Hospital, Galen State Hospital, Boulder River School and Hospital, and other
institutions. In addition, there are two handbooks (1976):
This subgroup contains records from the Montana Government Operations Unit (defunct, 1973-1974), whose duties were absorbed by the Budget and Planning Office in 1974. Records consist of general correspondence, interoffice correspondence within the Governor's Office, reports to the Governor and the legislature, subject files kept by the office containing materials from departments of the executive branch and from federal agencies, and miscellany.
This subgroup contains records from the Montana Indian Historical Jurisdiction Study (1851-1975). In December 1977, the Governor's Office contracted with Historical Research Associates (HRA) of Missoula, Montana, to conduct research into treaties, statutes, and executive orders affecting Montana reservations.
Records consist of copies of documents housed in the National Archives and the Seattle Federal Records Center that concern Montana Indians and reservations and include copies of treaties, statutes, executive orders, and reports compiled and microfilmed by Historical Research Associates. Also included are four volumes containing a description of the project, a review of Montana Indian policy, individual reservation histories, lists of legislative acts, a list of documents on microfiche, a bibliography, significant excerpts from the reservation superintendents' annual reports, and an index to archival documents on Montana Indian reservations.
This collection is arranged into six subgroups, representing the Offices, Boards,
Units and Programs within or associated with the Montana Office of the Governor.
Please note that some of the subgroups contain sub-subgroups, which represent
sub-programs or positions within an Office.
To learn more detail about the records in each subgroup, please click on the links below to be redirected to those finding aids.
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Collection open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives 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.
In 2025, the various collections of the Montana Office of the Governor were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 502, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Office of the Governor's Offices, Boards, and Programs that
were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into
Each of the links above will redirect the user to a specific subgroup or sub-subgroup
of the Montana Office of the Governor. There may be some overlap or inconsistencies
in terms of which records are in which subgroup or sub-subgroup, as these
collections have
Please see specific subgroups' finding aids for citation information.
Acquisition information available upon request.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Research Center catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.