Gov. Bullock criticizes House budget proposal

The following statement on House Bill 2 was made by Gov. Steve Bullock in the state Capitol on March 19, 2015.

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Six weeks before this session began, I proposed a balanced, responsible budget that would deliver the basic services of government to Montanans, make sustainable investments in our future and keep $300 million in the bank for the unexpected rainy day.

The House Republicans, unfortunately, chose to ignore our work and instead is about to pass a budget that fails to fund critical services for the people of Montana.

The list of what this House Republican budget does wrong is long. Here are a few examples:

• It turns its back on children with autism, which will cost families and the state more in the long run;

• It skips out on the rent the state owes private sector businesses;

• It puts some of our most vulnerable populations in harms way by denying much needed funds that would be used to protect children from abuse and neglect; and,

• While these legislators may not enjoy weeding into the details of running government, we have an obligation to fund Corrections to keep our streets safe and hold offenders accountable. We have an obligation to fund the Department of Livestock, to keep our food safe and our farms and ranches thriving. We have an obligation to fund the office of public defender, to keep our justice system working.

There have been dozens and dozens of amendments offered to restore reasonableness and essential services. Every one of those amendments has been summarily rejected and ignored. Montanans expect constructive efforts to work together, not political posturing.

I will not accept a budget that puts Montana’s fiscal health in jeopardy and that fails to fulfill our obligations to the people of Montana. If HB 2 were to arrive on my desk today, I would have no choice but to veto it. I am disappointed in the political games at play here. The people of Montana expect us to do better.

Nor will I take lectures on fiscal responsibility. Recall that at the end of the 2013 legislative session, I had to veto $150 million in expenditures that would have left our budget unbalanced and jeopardized Montana’s fiscal health. I wouldn’t think the Legislature would want to go down that path again, and yet that seems to be where we are headed.

HB 2 will soon head to the Senate. I hope that body will not repeat the partisan, misguided actions of the House. The Senate and my administration must collectively reject the unconstructive and unproductive actions of the House Leadership and work together to craft a budget that lives within our means and meets the needs of the people of Montana.

There is much work left to be done, and my administration looks forward to it.