SB442 veto draws ire of local politicians

Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed Senate Bill 442, a proposal on how to use marijuana tax revenues, last week despite broad bipartisan support, drawing criticism from local legislators and government officials along with a range of constituency groups.

SB442 would have divided tax revenues levied on recreational marijuana sales between the state’s general fund; county road construction and maintenance; conservation and recreation programs; addiction treatment, and veterans services and received support from the majority of legislative Democrats and Republicans.

Two competing bills would have allocated the money primarily into the general fund, or law enforcement, the latter of which Gianforte has voiced his support for.

Gianforte vetoed SB442 Tuesday, a day after it passed its final legislative hurdle, passing the Senate with a 48-1.

The Senate adjourned before it was notified the bill was vetoed but the House was still in session when word came down.

Gianforte said the bill, by allocating funds to projects normally under the jurisdiction of local government, creates a dangerous “slippery slope” with the state paying for local government projects. He also has said he wants the money to primarily to go to law enforcement.

Local governments were almost universal in their support for the bill, and the Montana Association of Counties was one of its biggest supporters.

Gianforte also expressed concern that county governments would use the increased breathing room in their budgets to redirect taxpayer dollars to “capricious, unnecessary projects,” which he said would add to Montanans’ tax burden.

The veto has drawn the ire of local legislators and officials who have said the bill was a rare moment of bipartisanship in a politically polarized time and the veto is incredibly disheartening.

Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, said he’s extremely disappointed by the veto, and he’s not buying Gianforte’s justification for it.

“This is not a slippery slope; I consider it a wise investment,” Tuss said.

He said the bill was supported by Democrats and Republicans as well as conservation advocates, local government and countless constituency groups.

He said the hearing on the bill was three hours long and he and many of his colleagues agreed that it was the most supportive they had ever seen.

He said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, deserves a lot of credit for writing the bill and for carrying it across what could have been the finish line.

Whether the veto can be overridden by the Legislature appears to be an open question, as the session ended just after the veto but before mnay legislators knew about it.

Tuss said he’s heard his fellow legislators are looking at attempting to block the veto as long as it is legal to do so.

Lang did not respond to a request for comment from the Havre Daily News, but Montana Free Press reports that Lang, who was among those who voted for the motion to adjourn, said he assumed lawmakers would be able to override a veto via polling after the session. But because the veto letter came down while the Senate was still in session, and because the Senate, seemingly not aware of the veto letter, didn’t act on it, there has been some question whether the chamber missed its chance to override the veto.

“If you ask three different people, you’d probably get three different responses,” Lang said to MTFP. “I think the bill (veto) should have been read over the rostrum, but that’s just what I think. We’ll see what the lawyers think.”

To override a governor’s veto when the Legislature is out of session the secretary of state must poll lawmakers by mail and if two-thirds of both bodies affirm the measure, it becomes law.

Tuss told Havre Daily News if they can vote by mail he’s confident that there is enough support to override the veto, which he absolutely would.

He said the bill, along with other benefits, would be a huge boon to county and city roads, which don’t have a lot of funding sources.

“This was a unique opportunity, and, I hope, not a missed opportunity, to invest in our local government infrastructure,” he said.

Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, who shares an office with Lang, similarly praised his colleague, saying he managed to gain support from both the “far-right and the far-left.”

He said he’s extremely disappointed at this development, and if he has the chance to vote to override the veto he absolutely will.

Tempel said he takes issue with how the veto was handled.

He said bills that possed the Montana House and Senate usually took around a week to make it to the governor’s desk, but this one managed to get in his hands in less than 24 hours which made for problematic timing.

“It was orchestrated,” he said.

Tempel also took issue with Gianforte’s justification for the veto, saying there are plenty of things under local jurisdiction that still receive funding from the state, so that’s not really a great argument for the veto.

Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, had not responded to a request for comment from the Havre Daily News by print deadline this morning, nor had Rep. Josh Kassmier, R-Fort Benton.

One of the bill’s biggest local supporters, Hill County Commissioner Jake Strissel,said he’s worried that too many legislators will drop support based on Gianforte’s veto, but he’s going to keep fighting for it regardless.

Strissel, who testified in favor of the bill multiple times in the Legislature, said his fellow commissioners as well as the Montana Association of Counties were pushing for the bill and hearing about veto after so much bipartisan support has been extremely demoralizing.

“That was my Hamburger Hill, that was the hill I was willing to die on,” he said.

He said Hill County has more than 1,800 miles of roads, ranking sixth in Montana, and the county road department is working with far fewer resources than it used to as funds has dried up over recent years.

Strissel said the commission doesn’t want to request more tax money from the people during a difficult economic time so they need to take whatever support they can possibly get.

He said road conditions are one of the most frequent complaints he hears as a commissioner, and he understands why, especially in western Hill County.

Thursday MACo will be holding a meeting, which will be streamed via Zoom at noon in the commissioner’s office, to talk about the bill, why it was vetoed and where they go from there, and Strissel said anyone who’s interested can come, though they might move it to the Timmons Room if there are enough of attendees.

He said he’d love to see people reach out to their state’s leader more directly.

“I would encourage people to call the governor and figure out why in the world he vetoed this thing,” he said.