By: Jeff Beach (ND Monitor)
Two vetoes by Gov. Kelly Armstrong stood up to challenges in the North Dakota Legislature on Friday.
Armstrong vetoed Senate Bill 2307, a library obscenity bill, and House Bill 1540, that would have used taxpayer dollars to support private school tuition vouchers.
A two-thirds majority was needed to override the vetoes.
The library bill got fewer votes in the Senate on Friday than it had when the bill passed, despite the pleas of bill sponsor Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, and other supporters.
Armstrong vetoed the private school funding but urged lawmakers to advance a broader school Education Savings Account bill. But that bill, Senate Bill 2400, failed in a House vote late Thursday.
The tuition vouchers bill passed the House 49-43 on Monday. Friday’s attempt to override the veto in the House failed 48-45.
Lawmakers began the legislative session with five Education Savings Account bills, but none of the proposals remain under consideration.
