Montana state legislature

Montana State Legislature
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
Leadership
President of the Senate	Scott Sales (R) Since January 2, 2017
Speaker of the House	Austin Knudsen (R) Since January 5, 2015
Structure
Seats	150
Political groups	Republican Party Democratic Party
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016
Next election	November 6, 2018
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. If the Governor vetoes a bill, the legislature may override the veto by a two-thirds vote.

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 13 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 65th Legislature (2017–2018) is controlled by the Republican Party with the House having 59 Republican members and 41 Democratic members, and the Senate having 32 Republican members and 18 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.