Fiscal Responsibility
We have real problems to solve. Our responsibility is to solve them without handing our children a budget that cannot carry the weight.
Montana’s enacted FY2026–FY2027 budget contains about $19.575 billion in comparable all-funds spending authority over two years. That includes federal and dedicated money, not just Montana’s general fund. Authority to spend is not the same as money already spent.
FY2026–FY2027 · HB 2 only · All funds · Before transfer adjustments
$16.457 billionHB 2 spending authority over two years
44.2%$7.279B
21.2%$3.492B
17.7%$2.914B
16.8%$2.772B
For a simpler pie, general government ($1.545B) and courts, law enforcement and justice ($1.227B) are grouped. HB 2 is the main agency appropriations bill, not the entire state budget. Percentages use rounded source amounts and may not add to exactly 100%.
Source: Legislative Fiscal Division, 2027 Biennium Fiscal Report, pp. 15 and 27–29. Enacted FY2026–FY2027 authority. The comparable total removes specified transfers to avoid double counting; the HB 2 functional and funding views use the report’s gross HB 2 chart totals.
| Function | Authority |
|---|---|
| Health and human services | $7.279B |
| Education and cultural programs | $3.492B |
| Natural resources and transportation | $2.914B |
| General government | $1.545B |
| Courts, law enforcement and justice | $1.227B |
| Total, rounded chart values | $16.457B |
HB 2 funding consists of $7.318B federal special revenue, $5.040B general fund, $3.627B state special revenue and $0.472B appropriated proprietary funds, using LFD’s rounded chart values. State special revenue is dedicated revenue; proprietary funds generally support government service operations.
The broader comparable-budget view totals $19,574.5 million: $16,012.8 million for net HB 2 including $0.6 million in separate language appropriations, $2,185.7 million in net statutory appropriations and $1,376.0 million in other appropriation bills. It is not directly additive to the gross HB 2 total.
LFD also reports non-comparable appropriations separately. The comparable total is a defined budget measure, not every authorization in every bill, all public spending in Montana or a single year’s expenditures. Long-range planning is budgeted separately rather than treated as an additional HB 2 service slice.
Montana has earned recognition for managing its finances responsibly. I want to protect that discipline so our children inherit options, not impossible obligations and less room to solve problems we cannot yet see.
8th
Truth in Accounting ranked Montana 8th out of 50 in its 2025 report, using Montana’s FY2024 finances. That is a reason to recognize fiscal strength, not a claim that every program works well.
Truth in Accounting, Financial State of the States 2025. An independent balance-sheet assessment, not a government-wide efficiency ranking.
AA+
Fitch’s June 2026 assessment credits conservative financial practices, reserves and low liabilities. Those strengths help preserve the state’s ability to respond when conditions get harder.
Fitch Ratings, June 24, 2026. Issuer rating with a stable outlook, not a guarantee of future performance.
Balance
Montana’s Constitution says appropriations cannot exceed anticipated revenue. We should honor that requirement while asking whether each dollar actually improves people’s lives.
Montana Constitution, Article VIII, Section 9. A balanced budget does not eliminate pension obligations or other long-term liabilities.
LFD reports comparable budget growth of 0.7% between biennia, while net HB 2 grew 10.9% and HB 2 general-fund appropriations grew 15.9%. Declining one-time appropriations and rebates offset operating-budget increases; 0.7% is not a measure of operating-cost growth (LFD fiscal report, pp. 15, 30 and 36).
Fitch reports no direct state debt after the remaining general-obligation bonds were defeased, but pension obligations remain. “No direct state debt” is not “no financial liabilities,” and strong revenues also matter to a sound balance sheet (Fitch’s assessment).
Housing. Child care. Community safety. We have outlined the problems. The harder question is how to make progress without committing money the state cannot sustain.
Using the June 2026 outlook, projected ongoing general-fund revenue exceeds the baseline, present-law adjustments and the report’s “pressures” category by about $95 million over two years. That is roughly 1.3% of projected revenue, before a separate set of additional pressures.
This is a calculated scenario for FY2028–FY2029, not an enacted budget, a cash balance or $95 million already available to spend.
FY2028–FY2029 · General fund only · June 2026 outlook
Source: LFD, 2029 Biennium Outlook, June 2026. Calculation in millions: $7,115.4 − $6,438.0 − $420.0 − $162.4 = $95.0. Bars use unrounded values; labels are rounded.
The spending basket combines $6,438.0 million in baseline spending, $420.0 million in present-law adjustments and $162.4 million in pressures. Present-law adjustments include items such as Medicaid, facilities, pay and benefits; pressures include school funding and fire mitigation.
LFD separately lists $1,780.9 million in “Additional Known Pressures.” That category is not included in our $95 million calculation and is not the same as enacted commitments. The outlook is a planning scenario, not a prediction that every identified pressure will be funded.
The presentation also considers a proposed 4.7% single income-tax rate. Under that scenario, the same spending basket exceeds projected revenue by about $45.6 million before offsets. Neither scenario is an enacted FY2028–FY2029 budget.
Federal funds make up 44.5% of HB 2’s FY2026–FY2027 authority. A change in federal support can put pressure on state resources, services or costs borne by others; fiscal strength does not make those trade-offs disappear.
LFD enacted budget, funding-source breakdown; June 2026 outlook.
Smart investment is not a blank check, and restraint is not an excuse to ignore problems. We should strengthen what works, repair what does not and stop calling a shifted cost a saving.
A promising investment
Montana recorded 386 apprenticeship completions in 2025. The 2026 report finds that 84% of completers were working for Montana employers five years later, but the historical completion rate was only 44%.
DLI, April 2026 Apprenticeship Report. Completion rates cover starts from 2000–2021; the annual completions and five-year retention measures use different cohorts. These outcomes do not establish a causal return per state dollar.
Our approach: Target shortage occupations and track cost per completion, earnings, employer participation and retention, not enrollment alone.
A documented management gap
A legislative audit found that Fish, Wildlife & Parks used more than 100 applications outside its licensing system, with fragmented management and manual transfers of data.
Legislative Audit Division, FWP information-systems audit 20DP-05. The application count is not a count of unnecessary systems. Outside savings benchmarks are not verified Montana savings.
Our approach: Identify genuine duplication, improve data management and verify net savings after implementation costs. A focused repair can be more useful than an across-the-board cut.
These examples are not a statewide waste estimate or a fully funded savings plan. Every proposal still needs its own fiscal analysis, implementation costs and measurable results.
I will push for more targeted, effective spending bills. New spending, tax preferences and proposed cuts should face the same basic questions before we commit our children’s future resources.
Use recurring revenue for recurring commitments. Test the cost through a downturn and preserve reserves for genuine shocks, rather than treating one-time money as permanent income.
Write the goal, deadline and cost per successful outcome into the bill. For child care, count new staffed slots and affordability. For treatment, measure access, continuity and outcomes, not just appropriations.
Ask whether the result would happen without the subsidy. Start with focused investments, test them and expand only when the evidence supports the next step.
Count the effects on counties, schools, hospitals, employers and families. A smaller state line item is not a real saving if it creates a larger cost somewhere else.
Require reliable reporting, independent review and clear renewal criteria. Fix, redesign or end ineffective spending, with safeguards for the people who depend on essential services.
These are campaign standards for evaluating policy, not enacted legislation or a claim that identified efficiencies alone will pay for every proposal. Housing, child care and crisis-intervention plans still need credible funding and fiscal review.
Our children deserve a state that invests in their future without spending away their choices. We can respect Montana’s fiscal discipline and still insist that the money we do spend works harder for our families.
Research reviewed September 21, 2026. Enacted budget figures refer to FY2026–FY2027; the forward outlook concerns FY2028–FY2029. Rankings, forecasts and program evidence have their own dates and limits. This is a public-facing summary, not a line-item audit.
