Montana Gov. Vetoes Bill on Tribal Cannabis Agreements

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the state’s tribal nations and the governor’s office to establish compacts to legalize and regulate cannabis on individual reservations. In a letter to Speak of the House Brandon Ler (R) and Senate President Matt Regier (R), Gianforte described the legislation as “unnecessary and duplicative.” 

In May, Jeffry Stiffarm, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, sent a letter to Gianforte requesting that he veto the bill, saying it undermines “the sovereign rights” of the Tribe by “conditioning the exercise of tribal regulatory on state approval, mandating state control over cannabis licensing and revenue sharing, and imposing frameworks that treat tribes as subordinate entities rather than equal sovereign governments.”    

“We believe tribal-state compacts regarding cannabis, gaming, taxation, and other issues must be negotiated on a government-to-government basis, with voluntary participation and respect for tribal sovereignty at the forefront.” — Stiffarm in a letter to Gianforte  

Gianforte echoed sentiments outlined in Stiffarm’s letter, saying in addition to the state already having “over 400 agreements with Montana’s eight tribal nations addressing a broad scope of matters” – including cannabis regulation – he was concerned about the proposal’s “potential impact on tribal sovereignty and self-determination as well as the government-to-government relationship” between the state and tribal nations.  

The bill, Gianforte concluded, “may constrain the scope and flexibility of negotiations, introduce unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, and impose State priorities on tribal nations,” and “interfere with the ability of both parties to engage in open, meaningful, and equal negotiations as sovereigns, potentially weakening cooperation and collaboration.”