Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) accidentally vetoed $35 million for the state’s housing budget.
He said he intended to veto a $150,000 grant to fund a Native American homelessness liaison position. Instead of only line-item vetoing the $150,000, the entire section was eliminated, which included $25 million for affordable housing initiatives and $10 million in homeless services.
“This was an honest mistake, and we will fix it,” a statement from the governor’s office said.
In 2018, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the governor “has no power to withdraw a veto.” The state is now figuring out how to deal with the matter of a mistaken veto.
“I have no recollection of anything like this happening in the 37 years I’ve been here,” said John Bjornson, legislative council director.“So, yeah, I’d say it’s a little extraordinary.”
The governor’s office said it would call a special session if needed, but noted it wants to “avoid the expense.” Special sessions cost the state roughly $65,000 per day.
If the legislature overrides the governor’s veto, that would include the grant that Armstrong intended to strike. If the legislature wants to only fund the $35 million housing budget, lawmakers may need to pass a new bill.
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“I have a very talented staff, and I’m very proud of them 99.9% of the time. They, however, apparently forgot their coloring skills from grade school,” Armstrong said. “We inadvertently made the mistake, which is on us and our office.”
“We are talking to everybody we can from the Legislative Council, our lawyers, everybody, to figure out if there is a legal way in which we can solve this without calling them (the Legislature) back into a special session and costing the taxpayer dollars,” he continued. “However, if that is the only alternative, it will be exactly what I am doing because we are not getting rid of the housing finance funding.”