Veto gets warm reception in Whitefish

Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s veto of House Bill 316 in Whitefish Thursday was well received at a forum heavily attended by representatives of the Flathead Valley tourism industry.

The bill was a supplemental school funding vehicle that included a provision to transfer lodging tax revenue to schools, a move that Schweitzer considers unnecessary because his office anticipates a $330 million ending fund balance for the next biennium.

Schweitzer vetoed the bill at the “Politics @ the PAC” forum at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center to wild applause.

Schweitzer said lodging tax revenue has been put to effective use in advertising and promoting the state’s tourism destinations in recent years.

His veto states that HB 316 “needlessly steals or transfers revenue from valuable job creating economic development tools, community impact funds and longstanding programs away from their intended sources.

“The bill is unnecessary given Montana’s strong revenue collections and I see no reason why we should hinder our economic recovery when the money to fund the core essential services is in the bank.”

Speaking at the same forum, Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, challenged the governor’s projected ending fund balance, saying legislative fiscal analysts are predicting an ending balance around $200 million.

Zinke, who sponsored HB 316, said it was designed to be a bill to enhance the ability of schools to establish cost-sharing cooperatives. But by the end of the session, it was the only legislative vehicle for supplementing school funding.

He said the bill would have diverted just 10 percent of lodging tax revenues to schools, and he noted that the state’s tourism promotion program spending has grown by about 40 percent over the last few years.

Schweitzer’s veto, he said, will result in schools not receiving $4.3 million over the next two years.

Schweitzer contends that schools will be fully funded through the Legislature’s general fund spending legislation, House Bill 2.

The forum was sponsored by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, the Daily Inter Lake and the Flathead Business and Industry Association.