On May 2, Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed Senate Bill 442.
By vetoing this bill, Gov. Gianforte ignored thousands of Montanans like you and legislators who have stood up over and over to make sure this historic public lands bill became law. When he did, Gov. Gianforte ignored 137 legislators who voted for it. He ignored county commissioners and local governments who supported it. He ignored farmers and ranchers who supported it. He ignored veterans who supported it. He ignored EMTs who supported it. And he ignored hunters who supported it.
Prior to the governor’s veto decision, many of Montana’s lawmakers stood with Senate Bill 442. This bill soared through both chambers in the final weeks of the legislature, passing the Senate 48-1 and the House 82-17.
Gov. Gianforte is supposed to listen to – and serve – the public, not turn his back on the needs of our people, our public lands, and our wildlife.
For months, the Gianforte administration said that if we got good bipartisan bills on the governor’s desk, he’d sign them. We held up our end of the deal, but the governor did not. SB 442 was bipartisan. It was well supported. It secured historic investments in habitat conservation, water conservation, weed management, public access, and more.
Gov. Gianforte has repeatedly said that enhancing access, conserving wildlife, and protecting open lands are some of his major priorities. These are nice sound bites – but vetoing Senate Bill 442 exposed his not-so-rosy true colors.
SB 442 would have resulted in historic investments in wildlife, water, and public access. The governor took those investments away from all Montanans. SB 442 should become the law and we need to show the governor just how disappointed we are in his inexplicable decision to veto this popular bipartisan bill.
Bruce Gibson
Columbia Falls