2007 Montana Legislature

SENATE BILL NO. 497

INTRODUCED BY MOSS, WILLIAMS, JUNEAU, SCHMIDT, GILLAN, CURTISS, KAUFMANN, SQUIRES, COCCHIARELLA, ARNTZEN, BARRETT, BECKER, BIXBY, CAFERRO, CAMPBELL, COHENOUR, DICKENSON, DRISCOLL, FRANKLIN, FRENCH, GRINDE, HANDS, HENRY, HINER, INGRAHAM, JAYNE, KOTTEL, LAMBERT, MORGAN, POMNICHOWSKI, RASER, REINHART, RICE, SANDS, TAYLOR, WILMER, SMALL-EASTMAN

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING THAT A MURAL HONORING THE HISTORY OF MONTANA WOMEN AS COMMUNITY BUILDERS BE COMMISSIONED AND INSTALLED IN THE CAPITOL OR CAPITOL COMPLEX; AMENDING SECTION 2-17-808, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND A TERMINATION DATE."

WHEREAS, the art work decorating the Montana capitol conveys a narrative of the history of Montana and the significance of its government; and

WHEREAS, this ground we call Montana, on which Indian women met women from Europe, Asia, and Africa, bears the marks of generations of women's labor visible in the remains of tipi rings and homestead gardens, in the presence of one-room schools and university classrooms, in the storefronts of small businesses, and in the offices of corporations; and

WHEREAS, we know our culture through the stories of women like Pretty Shield, Mourning Dove, Dorothy Johnson, and Mildred Walker, through the beadwork, star quilts, pasties, and povitica made by thousands of women in homes across the state, and through the dozens of languages spoken by mothers to children on reservations and in immigrant communities that formed the fabric of Montana; and

WHEREAS, women in communities across Montana have pioneered the social institutions we now consider a part of community life because they stepped outside domestic roles to found libraries, museums, theaters, parks, playgrounds, schools, shelters, hospitals, labor unions, and social clubs; and

WHEREAS, women in Montana fought for and won the right to vote in 1914, 6 years before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, helped to send the first woman in American history to the U.S. Congress, have served and continue to serve in every branch of local, state, and tribal government, and have eloquently represented views across the entire spectrum of American politics; and

WHEREAS, with few exceptions, this story of Montana's past is not represented in the capitol's art, and a mural commemorating Montana women's contribution to the history and government of the state would enrich and more accurately tell Montana's story to its citizens and visitors alike.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Women as community builders commission -- ceiling murals MURAL. (1) There is a women as community builders commission. The commission consists of the following persons appointed by the governor:

(a) a member educated in women's studies;

(b) a member with substantial knowledge of Montana's history;

(d) a museum director or conservator;

(e) an architect;

(f) a representative of American Indian tribes in Montana;

(g) a member of the capitol complex advisory council established in 2-17-803; and

(h) a representative of the department of administration in the area of architecture and engineering; AND

(I) A COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE.

(2) Commission members shall serve without compensation or reimbursement.

(3) The commission shall:

(a) through a competitive process, commission a qualified artist to create ceiling murals A MURAL as provided in subsection (4);

(b) coordinate and consult with the capitol complex advisory council and the department of administration; and

(4) The murals MURAL provided for in this section must reflect a historical theme honoring Montana women as community builders in diverse roles, such as mothers, grandmothers, business leaders, educators, health care providers, and scientists. The murals MURAL must be in an artistic style consistent with the current genre of artwork in the capitol and be placed for up to 50 years, subject to renewal, on the ceiling of the old state supreme court chambers in the east wing of the capitol. THE LOCATION OF THE MURAL MUST BE DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CAPITOL COMPLEX ADVISORY COUNCIL.

Section 2. Section 2-17-808, MCA, is amended to read:

"2-17-808. Placement of certain busts, plaques, statues, memorials, monuments, and art displays. (1) The following busts, plaques, statues, memorials, monuments, and art displays are to be placed for up to 50 years, subject to renewal, in the capitol:

(a) the busts of Thomas J. Walsh, Burton K. Wheeler, and Joseph Dixon;

(b) the plaques commemorating Theodore Brantley, Fred Whiteside, the first Montana volunteers who fought in the Spanish-American War, the construction of the capitol from 1899 to 1902, the 1972 Montana constitutional convention, and the women legislators' centennial;

(d) the statues of:

(i) Wilbur Fiske Sanders;

(ii) Jeannette Rankin; and

(iii) Mike and Maureen Mansfield;

(e) the Montana statehood centennial bell;

(f) the gallery of outstanding Montanans;

(g) the Montana constitutional exhibit; and

(h) the biographical descriptions of Montana's governors, to be placed near the portraits of the governors; and

(i) the ceiling murals MURAL [provided for in section 1] honoring women as community builders.

(2) The following busts, plaques, statues, memorials, monuments, and art displays are to be placed for up to 50 years, subject to renewal, on the grounds of the capitol:

(a) the statues of Thomas Francis Meagher and Lady Liberty;

(b) the plaques commemorating:

(i) Donald Nutter;

(ii) President George H. W. Bush; and

(iii) American prisoners of war and personnel of the United States armed services missing in action;

(c) two benches with plaques recognizing contributors to the 1997-2000 capitol restoration, repair, and renovation project;

(d) the Montana centennial square; and

(e) the monument of the ten commandments.

(3) The following busts, plaques, statues, memorials, monuments, and art displays are to be placed for up to 50 years, subject to renewal, on the capitol complex grounds:

(a) the statue by Robert Scriver entitled "symbol of the pros";

(b) the monuments to the liberty bell, the veterans' and pioneer memorial building--landscape beautification project, Montana veterans, and Pearl Harbor survivors and the peace pole;

(d) the plaques commemorating the Montana national guard and Lewis and Clark; and

(e) the arrastra.

(4) The following busts, plaques, statues, memorials, monuments, and art displays are to be placed for up to 50 years, subject to renewal, in state buildings on the capitol complex:

(a) the paintings of Dr. W. F. Cogswell and the paintings entitled "burning bush", "dryland farmer", "farm girl", "the river rat", "top of the world", "angus #68", "the source", "the Bozeman trail", and "the Mullan road";

(b) the art displays known as "Montana workers--mining, ranching, and building", "copper city rodeo", "dancing cascade", "save a piece of the sky", and "night light";

(d) the busts of Lee Metcalf and Sam W. Mitchell.

(5) The senate sculpture depicting the Lewis and Clark expedition is to be placed for up to 50 years, subject to renewal, on the west wall in the senate chambers.

(6) The EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN [SECTION 1(4)], THE THE council shall determine the specific placement of the items identified in subsections (1) through (4)."

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Contingent voidness. If House Bill No. 5 is not passed and approved with an appropriation to the department of administration for the purposes of [section 1], [this act] is void.

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Notification to tribal governments. The secretary of state shall send a copy of [this act] to each tribal government located on the seven Montana reservations and to the Little Shell Chippewa tribe.

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 2, chapter 17, part 8, and the provisions of Title 2, chapter 17, part 8, apply to [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 5. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2007.

NEW SECTION. Section 6. Termination. [Section 1] and the bracketed language in [section 2] terminate June 30, 2009.

- END -

Latest Version of SB 497 (SB0497.03)
Processed for the Web on March 30, 2007 (6:26pm)

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