"Section (1). The legislature shall provide methods for governing local government units and procedures for incorporating, classifying, merging, consolidating, and dissolving such units, and altering their boundaries. The legislature shall provide such optional or alternative forms of government that each unit or combination of units may adopt, amend, or abandon an optional or alternative form by a majority of those voting on the question.Section (2). One optional form of county government includes, but is not limited to, the election of three county commissioners, a clerk and recorder, a clerk of district court, a county attorney, a sheriff, a treasurer, a surveyor, a county superintendent of schools, an assessor, a coroner, and a public administrator. The terms, qualifications, duties, and compensation of those offices shall be provided by law. The Board of county commissioners may consolidate two or more such offices. The Boards of two or more counties may provide for a joint office and for the election of one official to perform the duties of any such office in those counties."

History

Sources

1889 Montana Constitution

Article XVI - Municipal Corporations and Officers

Section 3. In all cases of the establishment of a new county it shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all then existing liabilities of the county or counties from which it is formed, less the ratable proportion of the value of the county buildings and property of the county or counties from which it is formed; Provided, That nothing in this section shall prevent the re-adjustment of county lines between existing counties.

Section 4. In each county there shall be elected three county commissioners whose term of office shall be four years. A vacancy in the board of county commissioners shall be filled by appointment by the district judge of the district in which the vacancy occurs.

Section 5. There shall be elected in each county the following officers: One county clerk, who shall be clerk of the county commissioners and ex officio recorder; one sheriff; one treasurer, who shall be collector of taxes; Provided, That no person shall hold the office of county treasurer for more than two consecutive terms; one county superintendent of schools; one county surveyor; one assessor, one coroner; one public administrator. Persons elected to the different offices names in this section shall hold their respective offices for the term of two years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. Vacancies in all county, township and percent offices, except that of county commissioners, shall be filled by appointment by the board of county commissioners, and the appointee shall hold his office until the next general election.

Section 6. The Legislative Assembly may provide for the election or appointment of such other county, township, precinct, and municipal officers as public convenience may require and their terms of office shall be as prescribed by law, not in any case to exceed two years, except as in this constitution otherwise provided.

Drafting

Original Version

On February 2, 1972, Delegate Thomas M. Ask introduced Delegate Proposal No. 97 - "Local Government" with the following language:

"Section 3. Forms of Government. The legislature shall provide by general law for the government of counties, cities, towns, and other local government units and for methods and procedures of incorporating, merging, consolidating, and dissolving such units of local government and or altering their boundaries, including provisions: (1) For such classification of units of local government as may be necessary on the basis of population or on any other reasonable basis related to the purpose of the classification; (2) For optional plans of municipal organization and government so as to enable a county or city to adopt or abandon an authorized optional form by a majority vote of the qualified voters voting therein; (3) For procedures by which a county or a city may prepare an alternative plan of municipal organization and government to be adopted or amended by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the city or county voting therein; (4) For procedures by which a county, city, and town, or counties and cities and towns may prepare an alternative form of consolidated municipal government to be adopted or amended by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the jurisdictions affected; (5) For procedures for initiative and referenda and recall. Provided, however, that one alternative form of county government authorized by this section shall include, but not be limited to, the election of three commissioners for overlapping six-year terms and the election for four-year terms of a county clerk and recorder, a sheriff, a treasurer, a county superintendent of schools, an assessor, a county attorney and a clerk of district court. Two or more of such offices, except county attorney, may be consolidated by action of the Board of County Commissioners. Each county operating under this alternative form of government at the time of the adoption of this constitution shall continue to operate under it until the voters of the county adopt an alternative form as provided for in the section or in section 4." Montana Constitutional Convention Proceedings, 1971-1972 Vol. I, 215-216.

Amended Version

On February 19, 1972, the Local Government Committee proposed an amended version:

"Section 3. Forms of Government. The legislature shall provide by law for the government of local government units and for procedures of incorporating, classifying, merging, consolidating, and dissolving such units and of altering their boundaries. The legislature shall provide by law for the option or alternative forms of government for each unit or combination of units to adopt, amend or abandon an optional or alternative form by a majority of those voting on the question.

One optional form of county government includes, but is not limited to, the election of three county commissioners, a clerk and recorder, a clerk of district court, a county attorney, a sheriff, a treasurer, a surveyor, a county superintendent of schools, an assessor, a coroner, and a public administrator whose terms, qualifications, duties, and compensation of those offices shall be prescribed by law. The boards of Commissioners may consolidate two or more such offices. The boards of Commissioners of two or of more counties may provide for a joint office and for the election of one official to perform the duties of any such office in the respective counties." Montana Constitutional Convention Proceedings, 1971-1972, Vol. II, 782.

This language was accompanied by a letter written by the Chairman of the Local Government Committee, Oscar L. Anderson, and Vice-Chairman, Virginia H. Blend, to the Montana Constitutional Convention. The committee unanimously agreed to propose a replacement of Article XVI - "Counties - Municipal Corporations and Offices", in its entirety, to allow for greater flexibility. Initially, the committee was in general disagreement as to how to best achieve this goal. However, the committee concluded:

"This proposal tends to work with the existing local government structure of the cities, towns and counties and seeks to achieve improvement by encouraging experimentation in local government powers and form." Montana Constitutional Convention Proceedings, 1971-1972, Vol. II, 780.

Further, the proposal was adopted after consideration from nearly three-thousand (3,000) citizen suggestions, and nineteen (19) delegate proposals. Montana Constitutional Convention Proceedings, 1971-1972, Vol. II, 780-781.

In describing the need for greater flexibility to the Convention, Delegate Ask explained:

"Section 3 provides the Legislature with authority to meet the rapidly shifting governmental needs of vastly different units of local government. For example, the Legislature, under Section 3, could provide streamlined forms of county government specifically or specially suited for areas in which the population is dwindling, and a variety of forms of consolidated government areas where virtually all of a county's population is urban." Verbatim Transcript 2516-2517 (March 16, 1972).

In continuation of a discussion concerning the consolidation of offices, Delegate Gene Harbaugh called attention to the 1889 Constitution, in which counties already had the right to consolidate offices and had been doing so. In response, Delegate Ask articulated:

"[Consolidating] offices is in the old Consitution, but we've added the new sentence on there, the commissioner of two or more counties can consolidate the duties of one officer. And we particularly heard witnesses that - from superintendents of schools - that they could handle maybe two or three counties, so they could be elected in these three counties. This is the first provision that you have that they could even do that; and I think on your superintendent of schools, where you need special qualifications, these are the kinds of offices that should serve more than one county." Verbatim Transcript 2520 (March 16, 1972).

Final Version

Section 3. Forms of Government. (1) The legislature shall provide methods for governing local government units and procedures for incorporating, classifying, merging, consolidating, and dissolving such units and of altering their boundaries. The legislature shall provide such optional or alternative forms of government that each unit or combination of units may adopt, amend or abandon an optional or alternative form by a majority of those voting on the question.

(2) One optional form of county government includes, but is not limited to, the election of three county commissioners, a clerk and recorder, a clerk of district court, a county attorney, a sheriff, a treasurer, a surveyor, a county superintendent of schools, an assessor, a coroner, and a public administrator. The terms, qualifications, duties, and compensation of those offices shall be provided by law. The boards of county commissioners may consolidate two or more such offices. The board of two or more counties may provide for a joint office and for the election of one official to perform the duties of any such office in those counties. Montana Constitutional Convention Proceedings, 1971-1972, Vol. II, 1073.

On March 30, 1972, the Delegates specifically adopted Section 3 by roll call vote of eighty-one (81) delegates voting Aye and two (2) delegates voting No. Verbatim Transcript 2835 (Mar. 20, 1972).

Article XI, Local Government (including all nine subsections) was unanimously adopted with no discussion on March 22, 1972. Verbatim Transcript 2928 (Mar. 22, 1972).

Ratification

1972 Voter Pamphlet Explanation

"[The New Provision of Article XI, Section 3] directing [the] legislature to provide alternative forms of city and county or city-county governments, one of which must be the "traditional" form including the elected officials listed. Two or more counties may agree to elect one official to serve a multicounty area. Offices within these counties are subject to consolidation." Available at http://www.umt.edu/law/library/files/1972voterspamphlet.

Interpretation

Commentary

In the drafting process, the Committee on Local Government commented:

"The intent of section 3 is to offer just as broad freedom to the legislature to provide various terms of local government as is allowed under the present section 7. Because of that intent, the committee considered retaining the present language of section 7; this idea eventually was rejected because the present wording is unclear and confusing. It is hoped that section 3's straightforward direction to the legislature to provide optional and alternative forms of government will result in a greatly expanded offering to the local government units within Montana." Montana Constitutional Convention Proceedings, 1971-1972, Vol. II, 789.