Legislative Management asks staff for options after Attorney General opinion on governors veto of $35 million

Legislative Management asked Legislative Council on June 26 to prepare options after an Attorney General opinion concluded the governors veto letter, not the markups on the returned bill, is the legally operative document for an item veto.

The move followed a presentation by Legislative Council attorney Emily Thompson summarizing a June 10 Attorney General opinion about the governors veto of parts of Senate Bill 2014. Thompson told the committee that "in the opinion issued June 10, the AG concluded that the Governor's veto letter was the legally operative document." Committee members expressed concern that the opinion did not address controlling North Dakota Supreme Court precedent and that the ruling could let future governors effectively rewrite appropriations.

Why it matters: the dispute centers on a $35 million appropriation in…