2020 Montana legislative session
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Montana: No changes impacting state legislative activities were made.
| Montana State Legislature | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type: | State legislature |
| Term limits: | 2 terms (8 years) in Senate, 4 terms (8 years in House) |
| Session start: | No regular legislative session |
| Website: | Official Legislature Page |
| Leadership | |
| Senate President: | Scott Sales (R) |
| House Speaker: | Greg Hertz (R) |
| Majority Leader: | Senate: Fred Thomas (R) House: Brad Tschida (R) |
| Minority Leader: | Senate: Jon Sesso (D) House: Casey Schreiner (D) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 50 (Senate), 100 (House) |
| Length of term: | 4 years (Senate), 2 years (House) |
| Authority: | Art V, Sec. 2, Montana Constitution |
| Salary: | $82.64/day + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last election: | November 6, 2018 |
| Next election: | November 3, 2020 |
| Redistricting: | Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission has control |
Montana held no regular legislative session in 2020.
Partisan control in 2020
- See also: State government trifectas
Montana was one of 14 states without a state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Montana was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
Leadership in 2020
Montana State Senate
- Senate president: Scott Sales (R)
- President Pro Tem: Mark Blasdel (R)
- Majority leader: Fred Thomas (R)
- Minority leader: Jon Sesso (D)
Montana House of Representatives
- House speaker: Greg Hertz (R)
- Majority leader: Brad Tschida (R)
- Minority leader: Casey Schreiner (D)
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of 2020, there were 39 standing committees in Montana's state government, including six joint legislative committees, 17 state Senate committees, and 16 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
Senate committees
- Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee
- Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee
- Committee on Committees
- Education and Cultural Resources Committee
- Finance and Claims Committee
- Fish and Game Committee
- Highways and Transportation Committee
- Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee
- Senate Ethics Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Legislative Administration Committee
- Senate Local Government Committee
- Senate Natural Resources Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate State Administration Committee
- Senate Taxation Committee
House committees
- Agriculture Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Business and Labor Committee
- Energy, Technology & Federal Relations Committee
- Energy, Technology, and Federal Relations Committee
- Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Ethics Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Legislative Administration Committee
- House Local Government Committee
- House Natural Resources Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House State Administration Committee
- House Taxation Committee
- Human Services Committee
- Transportation Committee
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Montana Constitution can be amended:
| Montana Constitution |
|---|
|
| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • Schedule |
The Montana Constitution provides three mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Montana requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.
Initiative
- See also: Initiated constitutional amendment
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In Montana, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Montana also has a distribution requirement that requires proponents to collect signatures equal to 10% of the qualified electors in each of two-fifths (40) of the state's 100 legislative districts. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
Legislature
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required of all members of the legislature during one legislative session for the Montana State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Since Montana has 150 legislators (100 Representatives and 50 Senators), at least 100 members must vote in favor of a constitutional amendment for it to pass. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
According to Section 3, Article XIV of the Montana Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years, if it has not otherwise appeared on the ballot in the last 20 years. Montana is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.
The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:
| State | Interval | Last question on the ballot | Next question on the ballot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 20 years | 2010 | 2030 |
The Montana State Legislature is also authorized to submit a constitutional convention question to voters via a two-thirds (66.67%) vote of both chambers. Citizens may also initiate a constitutional convention question. The number of signatures required to place the question on the ballot is equal to 10% of the qualified electors of the state, including at least 10 percent of the qualified electors in each of two-fifths of the legislative districts. Any amendments proposed by a convention must be ratified by the voters.
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Montana.
Montana Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Fifteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | R | R | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
| Elections | Montana State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
