Ambiguity will remain in bill-veto procedures

By Josh Loftin
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006 10:50 p.m. MDT
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The Legislature probably has the final say in determining how a bill vetoed during the general session is handled.

According to the Utah Constitution, any bill vetoed during the first 35 days must be "reconsidered" by the end of the session by whichever body, the House or Senate, originated the bill. It must also pass both chambers by a two-thirds majority to override the veto.

There is some ambiguity, however, about whether both chambers have to reconsider the vetoed bill, and whether that reconsideration has to include a vote on whether to override. On both counts, members of the Constitutional Review Commission seemed to agree that it was best left to legislative leaders and the members of each body to decide, even if it meant that the procedures were inconsistent session to session.

The issue was brought to the commission two months ago by Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, in regards to SB70, which was vetoed by Gov. Jon Huntsman during the 2006 General Session. The Senate then voted to override, but the House refused to even bring the bill to the floor for debate because it lacked the votes to override.

If passed, the bill would have removed the governor's single authority to stop low-level nuclear waste and hazardous waste disposal by giving the Legislature the power to override the governor's decision.

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"The constitution clearly anticipates an action," commission member Roger Tew said. "Which action is left to legislative prerogative . . . nobody has brought a good reason why the current procedure is onerous. If it is brought up and there are more nos than yeses to reconsider it, then it is done."

Although the issue was brought by Valentine, Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, said that the in-session veto process was not something that concerned many of her fellow House members. While more consistency might be desirable, the fate of any vetoed bill would still be determined by the overall support among legislators.

Commission member Byron Harward said that deciding to not even debate the bill is sufficient reconsideration and that the constitution is intentionally vague about the exact procedure. The only thing that is clear is that if nothing is done with a bill that is vetoed during the session — with the exception of the last 10 days — the bill dies.

"We're making a mountain out of a molehill," he said. "The words, taken in the ordinary legislative meanings, mean what they say."

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com

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