HELENA – Montanans will get to decide this year whether it is time to rewrite the state Constitution.
Every 20 years, a ballot measure asks the voters whether they want to call a constitutional convention. The last one, written amid the progressive politics of the early 1970s, includes an inalienable right to a “clean and healthful environment” that has rankled some conservatives and industry interests stymied in the courts over development projects.
Some of those conservatives think it is time to call a constitutional convention and rewrite the document — which would be no small undertaking. Others argue the constitution has done a great job of protecting the rights of Montanans over the years and should be left alone.
If history is any indication, the voters may be fine leaving it intact. Back in 1990, less than one in five voters wanted a new constitution.
Conservatives believe a lot of court decisions over the last 20 years, particularly those they see as hard on business and mineral development, have made more people open to the idea of a new constitutional convention.
“We need to write a constitution that doesn’t end up being a lawyers dream like the current one,” said state Sen. Joe Balyeat, a Bozeman Republican helping lead the charge in favor of a new constitutional convention. “I would be amazed if it does as poorly as it did 20 years ago just because of the experiences we have had with the current Constitution, and I would argue the bad experiences we have had with the Montana Constitution over the last 20 years.”
If voters approve Constitutional Convention Call No. 2 on the ballot, the next Legislature will set up the details. The convention would include 100 delegates, to match the number of representatives in the House, who would have to be chosen in separate local elections and would then need to reach an agreement on a new document.
The 1972 Constitution was adopted by 100 delegates in March of 1972 and ratified a few months later by the voters.
“It was an exciting time. Change was in the air for a lot of things,” said Bob Campbell, one of the 39 original delegates still alive. “It was just a good time to make reforms.”
Campbell said he thinks Montana voters remain pleased with the document. He said the education and environment articles that upset critics remain important issues to many others, and merit keeping.
“We’ve got the strongest right of privacy that was still ever adopted,” he said. “And our right to keep and bear arms is much stronger than the national one.”
So far, no coordinated campaigns have sprung up to either push in favor of a new constitutional convention or to defend the current constitution.
And Balyeat said he has not heard that there will be any such effort among those who want a new constitutional convention. He said the campaign will have to be done through occasional guest columns in newspapers and the like.
Balyeat argues that enough Montana voters have seen that the Constitution grants too many rights that he believes are entitlements — such as education — which can only be provided through taxpayer expense.
“I think especially given Montana’s lagging economy people will see the handwriting on the wall,” he said. “They will see the need to rectify anything that is dragging down Montana’s economy.”