The Montana Constitution of 1972 has a great history.
Montana historian Harry Fritz says it “represented a fundamental turning point in the history of Montana.”
The old 1889 Constitution was a disaster. Drafted primarily by mining company supporters (copper King William Clark was chairman). It sharply limited the State’s ability to tax mining. The government was intentionally weak and ineffectual. The governor was largely ceremonial. For 80 years Montana was controlled with a “copper collar.”
The 1889 Constitution was filled with details and minutiae. Location of Army posts and the annual salary of statewide elected officers were unnecessary.
Enforcement of equal assessment for property taxes was left to the local county treasurers, which was a disaster. There was no audit of government agencies, no centralized management of state funds, and there was no statewide documentation of water rights.
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Even then, authorizing the drafting of a new Constitution was not easy. Bills authorizing a Constitutional Convention were killed for at least a decade before the Legislature finally succeeded in passing a referendum in 1969. The League of Women Voters worked tirelessly for years trying to convince the people that a new Constitution was necessary. Gradually they picked up support. In 1968 the Montana Chamber of Commerce joined. A national conservative group, the Committee for Economic Development, joined soon thereafter. They wanted state governments to have power to offset the growing power of the Federal government. Conferences, workshops, studies, and numerous other activities involving the public focused on the need for a new Constitution.
A study by the Legislative Council helped the 1967 Legislature create the Constitutional Revision Commission with adequate funding to do a substantial study. A huge bipartisan effort resulted when a referendum was authorized in 1969. Hundreds of influential people from both parties lobbied hard for a Convention. In November of 1970 65% of the people voted for it.
The 1971 Legislature Created the Montana Constitutional Convention Commission. Many young and enthusiastic researchers were hired by Dale Harris to go through the old Constitution article by article comparing it with the other forty-nine states. It included people like Rick Applegate and Max Baucus. The delegates were thus presented with an enormous study to assist them.
Dorothy Eck of the League of Women Voters and an elected delegate said many people were involved in this effort. These people wanted to (1) involve the public, (2) keep it nonpartisan, (3) keep the process open and (4) stick to fundamental principles. Let the Legislature take care of the details.
In 1971, 515 people filed to become a delegate. After both a primary and final election, 100 were elected. Existing elected officials were barred by the Supreme Court from running. Nevertheless, a large number of very prominent Democrats and Republicans were elected. The list of twenty-four lawyers was really a “whose who” among the legal profession.
Although Democrats held a 58 to 36 majority with six independents, the rules of partisanship were discarded. The delegates sat in alphabetical order. The committee chairmen were equally divided among each party; a vice-chairman was chosen from the opposite party. There were no party caucuses. Each and every delegate worked hard to draft the best Constitution possible. Every single delegate signed the document when it was finished. Most, including prominent Republicans like Betty Babcock, wife of former Gov. Tim Babcock, worked hard to get it approved by the people.
The Constitution has been heralded as the best Constitution in the United States, maybe the world. That happened because of all the hard work that went into preparing for and holding the Constitutional Convention. The delegates brought fresh ideas and, without any partisanship, brought a commitment to draft the best Constitution possible.
