HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer has the constitutional right to line-item veto spending on projects sought by local governments, a state lawyer told a Helena judge Wednesday.
Six local governments are suing Schweitzer to undo the governor’s vetoes of funding for their local bridge and water projects. The local governments argue that House Bill 351 wasn’t technically an appropriations bill, so they argue Schweitzer didn’t have line-item veto authority.
But the attorney general’s office argued on behalf of the governor that his line-item vetoes were “clearly” within his authority.
“Voiding the governor’s veto in this case would therefore undermine an important constitutional check on the legislative appropriation power,” assistant attorney general Stuart Segrest wrote.
The lawsuit was filed by Carbon, Fergus, Madison and Sweet Grass counties, along with the city of Roundup and the town of Sheridan. They asked Judge Jeffrey Sherlock to grant a preliminary injunction in their favor in order to make sure the money remains available in case they prevail in the lawsuit.
Their lawyer, Peter Scott, said the local governments worry the money will be spent or re-allocated over the course of the legal wrangling. Segrest argued a preliminary injunction is unnecessary because the funds aren’t threatened or at risk of being depleted.
Schweitzer has said he vetoed the wastewater project in Sheridan, a $700,000 bridge in Madison County, $275,000 for a bridge in Fergus County, and a $405,000 bridge in Carbon County because legislators for those areas, all Republicans, didn’t support the spending bill for the endowment program. Schweitzer is a Democrat.
Schweitzer said he rejected a $500,000 water project in Roundup because that city had access to other revenue sources, such as coal board funding, that were not available to other counties. The governor also said he vetoed about $155,000 for a bridge in Sweet Grass County because there was not enough need since the county identified an alternative route within close proximity.
The local governments have testified they spent thousands in engineering and other fees preparing for the grants through a ranking process, and argued the projects are all needed. The Sheridan public works director, for instance, testified it will need to charge citizens in town much more through a tax assessment since the governor vetoed $750,000 for a wastewater project.