Governor Kevin Stitt decided he didn’t want to put his name to the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget sent to him by the Legislature. Lawmakers convened a concurrent special session to pass the budget so they would have an opportunity to return to override vetoes if Stitt decided to go that route.
Two budget related bills passed during the special session did get vetoed. Senate Bill 26X would have extended existing and newly expired tobacco compacts with the tribes through December 2024. House Bill 1005X extends the tribal compacts for vehicle tags.
The rest of the budget he let go into effect without his signature. In his message filed with the bill, he claims this budget crafted by the Legislature is not responsible.
“Through House Bill 1004x, the legislature has spent 12.96 billion dollars in taxpayer money. The problem is that the legislature has relied upon one-time revenue to support recurring expenditures that exceed recurring revenues by roughly 220 million dollars. They have also drawn down the State’s savings from about 6.2 billion dollars to 4.2 billion dollars. Because this approach is neither sustainable nor fiscally wise, I have not signed House Bill 1004x. Nevertheless, subject to objections to the unique process by which the Bill made its way to my desk, the Bill will become law without signature,” wrote Stitt in the message.
Stitt did not sign the current fiscal year’s budget and vetoed the budget in 2020. However, the Legislature overturned that veto.
