Government
The Governors of Montana Education Cultural Activities
Montana is governed by a state Constitution approved in 1972, which replaced its original 1889 Constitution. The new Constitution and a body of state laws are administered by Montana's executive officers and by various boards and commissions. The governor is elected for a four-year term and may be re-elected any number of times (although no Montana governor has ever served more than two consecutive terms). The governor holds a relatively strong veto power over proposed legislation.
The lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction are also elected for four-year terms. A copy of the Montana Constitution can be purchase for a small fee from: Secretary of State, State Capitol, Helena, MT 59620.
The Montana Legislature consists of a 50-member Senate and a 100-member House. Senators hold four-year terms, and House members serve two-year terms. Regular legislative sessions convene in January of odd-numbered years, for a maximum of 90 working days. Special sessions of the Legislature may be called by either the governor or the Legislature itself.
The highest court of appeals in Montana is the state Supreme Court, which consists of one chief justice and six associate justices--each elected to eight-year terms. The trial courts for major civil and criminal cases are the state's 20 district courts. These jurisdictions are presided over from one to four judges, each elected to a six-year term. Municipal courts, police courts, and justice-of-the-peace courts handle less serious cases.
Montana includes governments for 56 counties and for 125 incorporated cities and towns. Local government most frequently employs a three-member board of commissioners on a county level and a mayor-council form on a municipal level--although seven local governments operate under the commissioner-manager system, including five of the state's largest cities.
The Governors of Montana
| Governors | Parties | Terms |
| Joseph K. Toole | Democratic | 1889-1893 |
| John E. Rickards | Republican | 1893-1897 |
| Robert Burns Smith | Democratic | 1897-1901 |
| Joseph K. Toole | Democratic | 1901-1908 |
| Edwin L. Norris | Democratic | 1908-1913 |
| Samuel V. Stewart | Democratic | 1913-1921 |
| Joseph M. Dixon | Republican | 1921-1925 |
| John E. Erickson | Democratic | 1925-1933 |
| Frank H. Cooney | Democratic | 1933-1935 |
| W. Elmer Holt | Democratic | 1935-1937 |
| Roy E. Ayers | Democratic | 1937-1941 |
| Samuel C. Ford | Republican | 1941-1949 |
| John W. Bonner | Democratic | 1949-1953 |
| J. Hugo Aronson | Republican | 1953-1961 |
| Donald G. Nutter | Republican | 1961-1962 |
| Tim M. Babcock | Republican | 1962-1969 |
| Forrest H. Anderson | Democratic | 1969-1973 |
| Thomas L. Judge | Democratic | 1973-1981 |
| Ted Schwinden | Democratic | 1981-1989 |
| Stan Stephens | Republican | 1989-1993 |
| Marc Racicot | Republican | 1993-2001 |
| Judy Martz | Republican | 2001-2005 |
| Brian Schweitzer | Democratic | 2005- |
Montana now carries three Presidential electoral votes. Its current members of the U.S. Congress are Senators Max Baucus (D) and Conrad Burns (R) and Representative Dennis Rehberg (R). Montana lost one of its two House representatives in 1993 due to a relative population loss. It did not recover that seat as a result of the 2000 census.
Education
In 2000-2001, almost 155,000 students attended Montana's 517 elementary schools and 365 secondary schools. Montana also operates five post-secondary Colleges of Technology located in Missoula, Butte, Helena, Great Falls, and Billings. In 1999 Montana graduated 79 percent of its high-school students--the eighth highest percentage in the nation.
The State University System of Higher Education is composed of six units: Montana State University (Bozeman); the University of Montana (Missoula); Montana State University-Billings (formerly Eastern Montana College); the University of Montana-Western in Dillon (formerly Western Montana College); Montana State University-Northern in Havre (formerly Northern Montana College); Montana Tech of the University of Montana in Butte (formerly the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology). In addition, three major private colleges in the state: Carroll College (Helena); the University of Great Falls (Great Falls); Rocky Mountain College (Billings).
Three public community colleges also exist in the state: Dawson Community College (Glendive); Flathead Valley Community College (Kalispell); Miles Community College (Miles City).
Native American tribal councils offer
higher education through community colleges established on each of Montana's
seven reservations:
| Reservation | College | Location |
| Rocky Boy | Stone Child Community College | Box Elder |
| Blackfeet | Blackfeet Tribal Community College | Browning |
| Crow | Little Big Horn College | Crow Agency |
| Fort Belknap | Fort Belknap Tribal College | Harlem |
| Northern Cheyenne | John Woodenlegs Memorial College | Lame Deer |
| Flathead | Salish-Kootenai College | Pablo |
| Fort Peck | Fort Peck Community College | Poplar |
The total expenditure (federal/state/local) for Montana's elementary and secondary education for the school year 2000-2001 was $1,092,500,000-- or about $6,900 per student.
Cultural Activities
Cultural life in Montana centers on the state's colleges and universities, with direction from the Montana Committee for the Humanities, the Montana Institute of the Arts, and the Montana Arts Council. Touring artists, public radio, and public television (as well as the state's two networks of museums and libraries) tie Montana's dispersed communities together. Music, literature, and creative art serve as focal points at all levels of the public education structure, and almost every community includes groups involved in musical and theatrical productions.
Montana offers more that 125 historical/art museums to the resident and the traveler alike. Outstanding museums and galleries include: the Montana Historical Society (Helena); the Museum of the Plains Indian (Browning); the Hockaday Center for the Arts (Kalispell); the C.M. Russell Museum and Gallery (Great Falls); Museum of the Rockies (Bozeman); the Western Heritage Center (Billings); the Missoula Museum of the Arts (Missoula); the World Museum of Mining (Butte); the Yellowstone Art Center (Billings); and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (Great Falls).
Libraries in the state include 111 public, 93 academic/institutional, and 430 elementary/secondary-school facilities. Montana's largest libraries are located at its two state universities in Missoula and Bozeman.
