Despite threats of a veto, a bill to redistribute marijuana tax revenue has passed a final vote and will be heading to the governor’s desk.
Lawmakers are sending Governor Greg Gianforte a bill that would distribute nearly $50 million from marijuana sales taxes to road maintenance and a grant program for habitat restoration projects.
Republican Senator Mike Lang from Malta sponsored the bill.
“This bill deserves to be signed by our governor,” Lang said. “It helps rural Montana and the people in the wildlife who live here.”
Lang’s approach of pairing the popular Habitat Montana program with county infrastructure has been popular with almost 100 different groups including; veterans, petroleum and lumber industries, ranchers, and wildlife conservation organizations.
It won support of a veto-proof supermajority of lawmakers over other proposals to spend the state’s marijuana revenue
But not everyone is on board with the legislation.
In a caucus meeting last week Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick warned Lang his bill will face challenges once it gets to the governor.
“I think you know, the position of the governor's office, it's very clear they're going to veto that bill. I mean, they've said it multiple times,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Governor’s office has advocated for policies that would allocate a large portion of the funds to law enforcement to fight drug related crime and addiction treatment. Legislation enacting those priorities was tabled.
The bill passed out of the Senate Monday and will now be sent to the Governor for review.
