'Pocket-veto' rule sets off accusations

Burlington Free Press
By Terri Hallenbeck • Free Press Staff Writer • May 7, 2008
Original Article Here

MONTPELIER -- When legislators left town Saturday without establishing a veto session, they triggered a constitutional provision that takes away Gov. Jim Douglas' option of letting bills he feels lukewarm about become law without his signature.
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That set off accusations from the governor's office about legislative leaders' intent and counter-accusations about the governor's willingness to make tough decisions.

Spokesman Jason Gibbs accused legislators of shirking their duties by leaving without a veto session and contended they did it to allow Democratic House Speaker Gaye Symington to start raising money from lobbyists for her expected campaign against Republican Douglas in the fall election. State law prohibits legislators and the governor from soliciting campaign donations from lobbyists during the legislative session.

"Their decision to forgo their responsibility on establishing a veto session has created a situation where any legislation the governor was intending not to sign would not become law because Gaye Symington wants to raise money from special interests," Gibbs said.

Symington, who has not filed a campaign finance report, which is required once a candidate raises $500, objected to the accusation on several fronts. "The governor's been calling for us to have an orderly adjournment," she said. "Now they're somehow wanting us to extend the session?"

According to the state's constitution, when the Legislature adjourns for good it changes the governor's options. Any legislation Douglas received after last Thursday will automatically die if he leaves it unsigned because the Legislature has adjourned for the year, an action commonly referred to as a pocket veto. If there were a veto session ahead, Douglas would have had the option of letting bills become law without his signature.

Assistant Attorney General Mike McShane said it was a measure added to protect the governor, because without it, the Legislature could pass a bill, leave town and the leave the governor nowhere to send a veto.

Veto sessions came into use in the mid-1990s as a way for legislators to protect their right to try to override a veto issued after the regular session ends. This year's Legislature had set a veto session for late June but opted against using it when voting Saturday to adjourn.

Symington said it shouldn't be a problem for the governor to decide whether he supports a bill or not. "Legislators only get to say yes or no. He wants to say maybe," she said. "I think that's a cop-out of leadership."

Gibbs said the governor should be able to take advantage of the option of letting a bill become law without his signature for bills he doesn't particularly like but where there is widespread legislative support and no harm would come from allowing it to become law.

He cited an industrial hemp bill the Legislature passed last week as an example. Gibbs said Douglas will still not sign such bills, but the onus will be on the Legislature when the bills die.

Gibbs said the pocket-veto provision will not change how the governor handles a bill regarding the Vermont Yankee decommissioning fund. Douglas will act on that bill today, and Gibbs indicated he will veto it. "The governor's been very clear he does not support legislation that will result in (utility) rate increases for the people of Vermont," Gibbs said.

Though Gibbs accused Symington of wanting the extra time to solicit campaign donations from "special interests," he conceded that Douglas accepts donations from those who lobby in the state. "He certainly accepts contributions from organizations and individuals that represent them but this is a tactical move by the Speaker to put fundraising ahead of policy she supports," Gibbs said.

Symington said if Douglas is concerned about campaign donations, he should not have vetoed the Legislature's campaign finance bill that would have limited contributions.

Douglas has said he thinks party contributions in that bill would force campaign spending into the hands of outside "special interest" groups.

Contact Terri Hallenbeck at 229-1297 or thallenb@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
The Vermont Constitution says ...

The state constitution, in a roundabout way, says a bill received three days before adjournment or after will die without the governor's signature: "If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor, as aforesaid, within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to the Governor, the same shall become a law in like manner as if the Governor had signed it; unless the two Houses by their adjournment, within three days after the presentation of such bill shall prevent its return; in which case it shall not become a law."