#MTGOV DAILY RUNDOWN: Governor Vetoes, Montana Suffers

ICYMI-Bullock’s choice for President, Hillary Clinton was called “extremely careless” by FBI Director James Comey for using a personal email server to do government business. As Secretary of State, Clinton used a private email server “almost exclusively” for government business. Overall, 110 personal emails were found to have contained classified information, while 8 contained “Top Secret” information.

Like his favored candidate for President, Governor Bullock has also faced questions about his use of personal email accounts to conduct state business.

During his time as governor, Steve Bullock has vetoed more bills than any governor in the state’s history. All told legislators have done the work to get 129 bills through both houses of the legislature that have then been vetoed by the governor. The bills vetoed include tax relief and simplification bills, much needed infrastructure spending, educational savings accounts for special needs students, measures to make health insurance cheaper and more accessible, as well as multiple gun rights bills.

While Bullock claims to be “working with the legislature” in a “bipartisan manner,” he continues to use his veto power on almost exclusively Republican bills. Out of the 56 bill vetoed last session, more than 50 were sponsored by Republicans.

“You can’t write an article big enough. That man seriously is such a detriment to the people of Montana and most of that stuff is common sense stuff. Man, this thing’s been looked at by 150 people. What gives one guy the right to say it’s not a good bill when 150 people said it was?” -Sen. Roger Webb, Missoulian, 7/2/2016

Legislators have noted that Bullock’s use of the veto pen has had a “chilling effect” on the legislature’s willingness to propose new legislation.

“Rep. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, said that if Gianforte is elected other proposals might surface that legislators have not brought forward with a Democrat in the governor’s office.

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“’I’ve heard from other people, ‘Why go through all the trouble of getting it through both chambers to put it on his desk if he’s just going to veto it?’” Missoulian, 7/2/2016,

Bullock has vetoed multiple infrastructure bills while the state has languished for 6 years without major infrastructure legislation.

“For six years, the Legislature has failed to approve a major infrastructure funding bill, or Bullock has vetoed the measures to balance the state budget.” -Billings Gazette, 7/5/2016

In 2013, Bullock surprisingly vetoed a $35 million infrastructure bill (with a $300 million surplus) for cash strapped Eastern Montana counties affected by the oil and gas boom.  It passed with large bipartisan majorities.

“’That was a bad one,’ [State Sen. Duane] Ankney said. ‘Because all indications were he was signing that bill, so I was really surprised.’” -Missoulian 7/2/2016

Governor Steve Bullock also vetoed three tax relief bills in 2015 alone

“The state House and Senate GOP caucuses touted tax cuts as a high priority for the 2015 session, but every major tax initiative that was passed out of the Republican-controlled Legislature has been vetoed by Gov. Steve Bullock. Bullock shot down the last of three principal tax proposals from Republicans on Monday. The other two vetoes came earlier this year on proposals to cut income taxes by 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent for every bracket.”- Missoulian, 5/7/15)


Greg Gianforte has stated that his “veto philosophy” is very simple.

“’At a simplistic level, I’m going to sign the good bills and veto the bad bills,’ Gianforte said, saying he would have supported tax reductions, infrastructure funding, regulation tweaks to strengthen natural resource development and bills to expand gun rights.” -Missoulian 7/2/2016