Collection SummaryThe state Legislative Assembly created the Montana State Highway Commission in 1913. The original Commission was composed of three members. In 1917, new legislation altered the organization of the Commission by authorizing the appointment of twelve members according to geographic highway districts. Membership changed again in 1921 to three members appointed by the Governor and in 1941 to five members, also appointed by the Governor. Through an executive order empowered by the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971, Governor Forrest Anderson’s administration renamed the Montana Highway Department as the Montana Department of Highways. The executive order, without changing the Commission’s composition, centered highway projects and development as its primary responsibility. The Montana Department of Highways was again renamed the Montana Transportation Department in 1991 by the state legislature. In 1995 the state legislature reflected the 1991 decision when it renamed the Montana State Highway Commission as the Montana Transportation Commission.Contributing InstitutionMontana Historical Society Research Center
