KTVQ has this on the Governor’s veto threat:
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has issued a stern warning that he will veto a growing list of bills he says are unconstitutional or frivolous and don’t deal with jobs.
AP offers more details on what the Governor will choose to veto:
Schweitzer said the list of unconstitutional bills includes anti-illegal immigrant measures like one heard Monday that attempts to interpret the U.S. Constitution with a new state law clarifying who gets citizenship. Other GOP measures would attempt to nullify federal laws like the Endangered Species Act, or proclaim state eminent domain authority over federal lands.
Other examples that attempt to undermine the federal health care law that lawyers have warned could run up against the supremacy clause, which says the Constitution and federal law is “the supreme law of the land,” or separation of powers concerns at the state level for ordering the attorney general to take action in a lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the Schweitzer Administration is pushing back on a new report that says Montana’s budget in worse shape than has previously been considered.
The Flathead Beacon has this:
The Daily Beast, a news and opinion website merging with Newsweek magazine, recently published its list of states with the “deepest debt – and it isn’t who you think.” According to the Beast, Montana’s budget is in worse shape than states with widely publicized problems, like California, Arizona and New York.
Schweitzer Budget Director called the report misleading.
Montana’s real budget pinch, facing an $80 million shortfall in 2012, is accurately reflected in the story. But its methodology is based on a ratio of debt to gross domestic product, with a high ratio indicating big debt problems. According to the Beast, Montana’s 2009 debt was $4.8 billion, with a GDP of $40 billion, putting its debt-to-GDP ratio at 13.25 percent. Ewer said the GDP figure was roughly accurate, but was shocked that the story asserts Montana has $4.8 billion in debt.
Click here to read the full article.