Governor sues Legislature over bill

Governor sues Legislature over bill

Staff and wire report

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Monday that a companion bill to the 2009 Legislature's spending measure went against the state constitution, so he's suing the Legislature.

The governor said the measure contained multiple subject matters and prevented him from using his line-item veto power on many of the expenditures.

The Montana Constitution says only the general appropriations bill, usually called House Bill 2, may include multiple subjects. House Bill 676 made a number of changes in the law to go along with House Bill 2.

The measure be...