Ron DeSantis urges Montana Legislature to certify Balanced Budget Amendment, but it’s too late for this year

Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his trip to the Rocky Mountains to push for a Balanced Budget Amendment, telling a Montana reporter that the state’s Legislature can work on it while in Session.

“I think it’s because this is something during the Session that the Legislature can certify,” DeSantis said.

However, the Governor may not fully understand the rules of the Montana Legislature. While it is in Session along with Florida’s Legislature, it’s on a different timeline. making it unlikely that a bill moves through to do what DeSantis wants.

Montana’s Legislative Session began on Jan. 6 this year and ends on May 9. The bill filing deadline is the 12th day of the Session. The only bills that could be filed are committee bills dealing with revenue, budget, and interim study resolutions.

Jerry Howe, the state’s legislative services executive director, says it’s too late to file the kind of bill DeSantis suggests. While various constitutional amendment bills have been filed, a cursory review suggests that they are centered on Montana’s Constitution rather than the federal foundational document.

The Montana Legislature won’t meet again until 2027 after this Legislative Session, meaning that DeSantis’ desired outcome likely wouldn’t come until he is out of office as Governor.

Despite time working against the Governor, he made a philosophical case for why well-run states like Montana and Florida should push to get a federal constitutional amendment.

“Now’s the perfect time to do it,” DeSantis argued.

“The founding fathers understood that the change needed to be driven in some instances by the states. And it’s not enough for Montana and Florida and Idaho to say, ‘Hey, look, we’re governing well. Look at all the great things we’ve done.’ We also are key players in the constitutional system and the founding fathers envisioned us having a role in these national affairs, and so we’re taking that role seriously.”