Burgum Wins: Legislature Will Not Reconvene to Challenge Vetoes

It sometimes seems like a rarity, but common sense appears to have prevailed with the North Dakota Legislature. According to reports, leadership has chosen not to reconvene in an attempt to override some unpopular vetoes by Governor Doug Burgum.

Last month, the 65th Legislative Assembly adjourned on the 77th day of the 80 day constitutionally-mandated maximum. That leaves three days to spare in case it is necessary to gavel back in to remedy pressing issues.

Well, it didn’t take long after the Legislature adjourned that Governor Burgum made some vetoes that left some legislators in a bit of a tizzy. The result was leadership looking at the possibility of coming back to the State Capitol in an attempt to override the unpopular decisions of the governor.

Chief among the vetoes was Governor Burgum’s decision to strike down $16.1 million in funding to about 1,600 non-oil producing townships– a free $10,000 each. These townships had grown accustomed to receiving such funds during the hay day of the Bakken Oil Boom. But those days are now gone. And with revenues way down, Governor Burgum put a kibosh to the funding and called it "arbitrary" and "inefficient" as a use of "scarce financial resources".

The governor’s decision was not really a surprise. He has repeatedly called for the need to reduce spending. And as a part of those calls, he has also said that local governments will have to tighten up their budgets too.

In the time since the vetoes, the question became whether leadership could garner up enough support to warrant reconvening. Something that every legislator I spoke with not only didn’t want to do, but said that they couldn’t envision happening. And they were right.

Governor Burgum may have had the upper hand in this showdown with his colleagues by virtue of the fact that they only had the three days to spare. With the possibility of other issues to deal with in the future, it seems that leadership didn’t want to risk using up their three days in a potentially failed attempt to override the vetoes. Something that would also leave them relying on the very governor they’re trying to override to call a special session if other issues were to come up that need attention.

While $16.1 million is a relatively small amount in a $13.6 billion budget ($4.3 billion of that is General Fund), it sure is good to see the spendthrifts get the smack down. Score one for the governor.

Source:
1. http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/lawmakers-won-t-return-to-bismarck-to-challenge-burgum-veto/article_a2ff223b-3308-596b-9527-0249104ae327.html
2. http://www.inforum.com/news/4258432-legislators-balance-books-some-worry-nd-budget-unsustainable

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About T. Arthur Mason 883 Articles
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends. In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives. Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least." Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government. On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.