veto

After Republicans’ threat not to participate, 68 lawmakers don’t return their ballot.

A district court judge in Helena has ruled state lawmakers should get a chance to vote on whether to overturn a veto Gov. Greg Gianforte issued on the last day of the 2023 Montana legislative session.

SB 442 enjoyed widespread bipartisan support and may have been the best example of compromise during the 2023 legislative session.

House Bill 693, which surrounds agency compliance with public information disclosures, passed a veto override on Friday with 105 votes from both chambers.

The veto of the bill and the abrupt adjournment has also rankled some Republicans who appear to be split on everything that happened during the final day of the session.

Chris Servheen writes, "His veto was not read across the rostrum before the Senate adjourned. This disregard for our legislative process is not aligned with the values we hold dear as Montanans."

Hobbs signed 29 bills on Tuesday and vetoed 11 more, bringing her total veto count so far to 63. Napolitano previously held the record for Arizona governor with most vetoes for the 58 bills she nixed in 2005.