HELENA — Montana lawmakers are voting on whether to overturn Gov. Steve Bullock’s vetoes on 10 bills after the legislative session adjourned in April.
If they do, it will be a rare feat. Overriding a governor’s veto requires approval of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate, and it hasn’t been done since 1999.
The vetoed bills include three measures on health care, such as requiring more pricing transparency for patients and restricting the state health department from shifting Medicaid funds to other programs. The others cover various issues such as extending coal leases on state lands and revising public safety officer standards.
Bullock vetoed 56 bills passed this legislative session. The 10 that are subject to override votes are those that were approved by two-thirds of the lawmakers who voted for them on the floor, according to Jeffrey Hindoien, Secretary of State Corey Stapleton’s chief legal counsel and deputy chief of staff.
“The Secretary of State is required to conduct a poll of the legislators for any bill vetoed post-adjournment that was approved by two-thirds of the members present, and that process is automatic,” Hindoien said.
The polls are being conducted by mail, and each has a deadline for lawmakers to return their votes to Stapleton’s office between June 14 and June 30.