OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
STATE or MONTANA

STEVE BULLOCK
GOVERNOR

Mun-3 COONEY
L'r. (Stevenson

 

April 3, 2017

The Honorable Scott Sales
President of the Senate
State Capitol

Helena, MT 59620

The Honorable Austin Knudsen
Speaker of the House

State Capitol

Helena, MT 59620

Dear President Sales and Speaker Knudsen:

In accordance with the power vested in me as Governor by the Constitution and the laws of the State
of Montana, I hereby veto Senate Bill 264 (SB 264), ACT REVISING RULEMAKING
AUTHORITY FOR REPORTING REQUIRED BY THE BOARD OF AMENDING
SECTION AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE 

SB 264 revises rulemaking authority for reporting required by the Montana Board ofOutfitters
(MBO). It limits reporting by out?tters to onlyr information related to professional licensing, and
would preclude reporting that is important to the state, hunters and anglers, and the
people of Montana?information like acreage leased by out?tters, general locations where out?tters
are providing services to hunters and anglers, and harvest rates. The bill eliminates reporting
requirements that I added to law via amendatory veto of House Bill 274 274) in 2013. as well as
the rules that the MBO implemented to gather additional data.

As I stated in my 2013 amendatory veto letter concerning HB 274: ?Accurate, credible data
indicating where licensed outlitters operate is essential to helping the public, and the Montana
Board of Out?tters (MBO) in various respects." This includes allowing the Board ofOutlitters and
the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to ?provide high quality data, rather than
anecdotal assumptions, when public policy issues arise regarding how both out?tted and non-
outlitted hunting may interact to affect game management, season setting, access to public land,
public hunting opportunities. and other resources." Because the commercial activities of licensed
outfitters depend upon the use ofpublic wildlife resources as regulated by the department and the
Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, the importance of this type of information remains just as

Cmvrot. . PO. Box 200801 . HELENA. Moa'mNA 59620?0801
TELEPHONE: 4064446111 I FAX: 406-444-5529 - WEBSITE: 

President Sales
Speaker Knudson
April 3, 2017
Page 2

relevant today. If SB 264 were to become law, the MEG would be prohibited from collecting this
information.

For these reasons, I veto SB 264.

Sincerely,

4x

BULLOCK
Governor

 

cc: Legislative Services Division
Corey Stapleton, Secretary of State