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ALL VETOES ARE NOT EQUAL
STATE LINE - Ever hear of the "Frankenstein" veto? How about the "Vanna
White" veto? Every state governor has the power to overrule actions by
his or her legislature through a "veto" – the word is Latin for "I
forbid" – but some governors can do more than simply say no.
The veto power enjoyed by Wisconsin's governor is broader than most.
That state's top elected official can rewrite parts of a bill, reduce
the amount of spending it authorizes or appropriates, and even strike
out objectionable provisions. In 2005, Democrat Jim Doyle used the power
to strike out 752 words from a budget bill in order to cobble together a
20-word sentence that diverted $427 million from transportation to
education. Enraged lawmakers dubbed Doyle's action a "Frankenstein"
veto, but they were unable to slay the monster by mustering the
two-thirds majority required by the state constitution to override a
gubernatorial veto.
The legislators are now talking about asking Wisconsin voters to ban
such a creative use of the veto in the future. The voters last got
involved in 1990 when they prohibited state leaders from deleting
individual alphabetic letters and numerical characters in a bill to
change the intent of the legislation. That practice was known as the
"Vanna White" veto, immortalizing the "Wheel of Fortune" hostess who
flipped letters and numbers in a TV game show.
The vast majority of governors (43) have "line-item" veto power over
spending bills. Not only can they reject an entire bill, they also can
strike out individual items. A dozen also can reduce the amount of money
the legislature wants to spend on a project by exercising "reduction"
veto power. And eight governors have the option of rewriting bills and
sending them back to the legislature, so-called "amendatory" veto power.
Wisconsin's quirky veto is a hybrid of the amendatory veto, reduction
veto and the line-item veto.
Six states – Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey and
Virginia – grant their governors the power of the amendatory veto. That
power applies to all types of bills, not just spending measures. (In
addition, South Dakota's governor can amend bills during session,
Wisconsin's can re-write spending bills.)
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=201710
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GREAT MOMENTS IN GOVERNMENT
LARRY SANDLER, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL - More than two years after
installing a new computer system that cost twice as much as expected,
the state Division of Motor Vehicles is still taking more than seven
weeks to mail out license plates and vehicle titles - more than twice as
long as it took before the system was installed, records show.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=595907
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ALL VETOES ARE NOT EQUAL
STATE LINE - Ever hear of the "Frankenstein" veto? How about the "Vanna
White" veto? Every state governor has the power to overrule actions by
his or her legislature through a "veto" – the word is Latin for "I
forbid" – but some governors can do more than simply say no.
The veto power enjoyed by Wisconsin's governor is broader than most.
That state's top elected official can rewrite parts of a bill, reduce
the amount of spending it authorizes or appropriates, and even strike
out objectionable provisions. In 2005, Democrat Jim Doyle used the power
to strike out 752 words from a budget bill in order to cobble together a
20-word sentence that diverted $427 million from transportation to
education. Enraged lawmakers dubbed Doyle's action a "Frankenstein"
veto, but they were unable to slay the monster by mustering the
two-thirds majority required by the state constitution to override a
gubernatorial veto.
The legislators are now talking about asking Wisconsin voters to ban
such a creative use of the veto in the future. The voters last got
involved in 1990 when they prohibited state leaders from deleting
individual alphabetic letters and numerical characters in a bill to
change the intent of the legislation. That practice was known as the
"Vanna White" veto, immortalizing the "Wheel of Fortune" hostess who
flipped letters and numbers in a TV game show.
The vast majority of governors (43) have "line-item" veto power over
spending bills. Not only can they reject an entire bill, they also can
strike out individual items. A dozen also can reduce the amount of money
the legislature wants to spend on a project by exercising "reduction"
veto power. And eight governors have the option of rewriting bills and
sending them back to the legislature, so-called "amendatory" veto power.
Wisconsin's quirky veto is a hybrid of the amendatory veto, reduction
veto and the line-item veto.
Six states – Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey and
Virginia – grant their governors the power of the amendatory veto. That
power applies to all types of bills, not just spending measures. (In
addition, South Dakota's governor can amend bills during session,
Wisconsin's can re-write spending bills.)
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=201710
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GREAT MOMENTS IN GOVERNMENT
LARRY SANDLER, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL - More than two years after
installing a new computer system that cost twice as much as expected,
the state Division of Motor Vehicles is still taking more than seven
weeks to mail out license plates and vehicle titles - more than twice as
long as it took before the system was installed, records show.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=595907
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