Montana Legislature

Montana State Legislature
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
Leadership
President of the Senate	Debby Barrett (R) since January 2015
Speaker of the House	Austin Knudsen (R) since January 2015
Structure
Seats	150
Political groups	Democratic Party Republican Party
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014
Next election	November 8, 2016
Meeting place

Montana State Capitol, Helena
Website
http://leg.mt.gov/css/default.asp

The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.

The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet in regular session for no longer than 90 days in each odd-numbered year. The primary work of the legislature is to pass a balanced biennial budget which must then be approved by the Governor.

Since the beginning of statehood for Montana, the Legislature has been split along party lines fairly consistently and evenly. Since adoption of the current state constitution in 1972, which mandated single-member legislative districts for the first time in the state's history, the Montana Senate has been controlled by Democrats in 9 sessions, and Republicans in 11 sessions. During the same period, the Montana House has been controlled by Democrats in 8 sessions and Republicans in 10 sessions with two ties. According to state law, in the instance of a tie, control goes to the party of the sitting Governor. The 63rd Legislature (2013–2014) is controlled by the Republican Party with the House having 61 Republican members and 39 Democratic members, and the Senate having 29 Republican members and 21 Democratic members.

Members are limited to serving no more than 8 years in either chamber but the term limit is consecutive not lifetime.

The Montana State Legislature meets in the state capital of Helena.

External links

Official Montana State Legislature Website
Party Control in the Montana Legislature
Montana's split-party control statute
Maggie Smith Hathaway Collection (University of Montana Archives)

Members of the Montana State Senate

63rd Legislature (2013)

President of the Senate: Jeff Essmann (R)
President pro Tempore: Debby Barrett (R)
Majority Leader: Art Wittich (R)
Minority Leader: Jon Sesso (D)

Chas Vincent (R)
Dee L. Brown (R)
Bruce Tutvedt (R)
Jon Sonju (R)
Verdell Jackson (R)
Jana Taylor (R)
Jennifer Fielder (R)
Shannon Augare (D)
Rick Ripley (R)
Bradley Maxon Hamlett (D)

Ron Arthun (R)
Larry Jent (D)
Mike Phillips (D)
Scott Sales (R)
Art Wittich (R)
Debby Barrett (R)
Jon Sesso (D)
Jim Keane (D)
Terry Murphy (R)
Mary Caferro (D)

Christine Kaufmann (D)
Dave Lewis (R)
Gene Vuckovich (D)
Scott Boulanger (R)
Fred Thomas (R)
Sue Malek (D)
Dick Barrett (D)
Tom Facey (D)
David Wanzenried (D)
Cliff Larsen (D)

Members of the Montana House of Representatives

63rd Legislature (2013)

Speaker of the House: Mark Blasdel (R)
Speaker pro Tempore: Austin Knudsen (R)
Majority Leader: Gordon Vance (R)
Minority Leader: Chuck Hunter (D)

Gerald Bennett (R)
Mike Cuffe (R)
Jerry O'Neil (R)
Ed Lieser (D)
Keith Regier (R)
Carl Glimm (R)
Randy Brodehl (R)
Steve Lavin (R)
Scott Reichner (R)
Mark Blasdel (R)
Greg Hertz (R)
Daniel Salomon (R)
Pat Ingraham (R)
Nicholas Schwaderer (R)
Frosty Boss Ribs (D)
Lea Whitford (D)
Christy Clark (R)
Jesse O'Hara (R)
Roger Hagan (R)
Steve Fitzpatrick (R)
Jean Price (D)
Casey Schreiner (D)
Carlie Boland (D)
Brian Hoven (R)
Tom Jacobson (D)

Robert Mehlhoff (D)
Rob Cook (R)
Roy Hollandsworth (R)
Ryan Osmundson (R)
Bill Harris (R)
Bridget Smith (D)
Clarena Brockie (D)
Kris Hansen (R)
Wendy Warburton (R)
Mike Lang (R)
Austin Knudsen (R)
David Halvorson (R)
Alan Doane (R)
Lee Randall (R)
Bill McChesney (D)
Rae Peppers (D)
Carolyn Pease-Lopez (D)
Duane Ankney (R)
Jonathan McNiven (R)
Tom Berry (R)
Clayton Fiscus (R)
Daniel Zolnikov (R)
Douglas Kary (R)
Mary McNally (D)
Dennis Lenz (R)

Kelly McCarthy (D)
Virginia Court (D)
Dave Hagstrom (R)
Margaret MacDonald (D)
Cary Smith (R)
Don Jones (R)
Sarah Laszloffy (R)
Krayton Kerns (R)
Joanne Blyton (R)
David Howard (R)
Alan Redfield (R)
Reilly Neill (D)
Franke Wilmer (D)
Tom Woods (D)
Kathleen Williams (D)
JP Pomnichowski (D)
Gordon Vance (R)
Kelly Flynn (R)
Ted Washburn (R)
Kerry White (R)
Ray Shaw (R)
Jeffrey Welborn (R)
Pat Noonan (D)
Ryan Lynch (D)
Edith McClafferty (D)

Amanda Curtis (D)
Kirk Wagoner (R)
Steve Gibson (R)
Chuck Hunter (D)
Liz Bangerter (R)
Galen Hollenbaugh (D)
Jenny Eck (D)
Wylie Galt (R)
Mike Miller (R)
Gordon Pierson (D)
Kathy Swanson (D)
Patrick Connell (R)
Ron Ehli (R)
Nancy Ballance (R)
Edward Greef (R)
David Moore (R)
Bryce Bennett (D)
Douglas Coffin (D)
Ellie Hill (D)
Tom Steenberg (D)
Carolyn Squires (D)
Nancy Wilson (D)
Jenifer Gursky (D)
Kimberly Dudik (D)
Champ Edmunds (R)

Legislatures of the United States

United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate

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Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands

Montana Legislature

See also

External links