The Bill is presented to the Governor

The governor has many choices on what to do with the bill

       He/She may sign the public act making it a law.

       He/She may take no action, thus allowing the public act to become law without his/her signature- this occurs five days after he/she receives it if the legislature is in session, fifteen days afterward if it is not in session.

       He/She may veto it explaining the reasons for the veto in a message to the legislature

The public act presented to the governor is an all or nothing choice.  A governor cannot veto portions of the act.  However, the governor may veto line items of appropriations in the budget, but because of the way the budget is formulated, the line-item veto is rarely practiced.

Veto Override

The legislature can override a veto by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of both houses.  First, a chamber moves to reconsider the vetoed bill; that motion may pass on a majority vote. Then, the chamber moves to override the veto; this motion only passes on a vote of two-thirds of the members of each chamber.  The override of vote in the House requires 101 votes and 24 votes in the Senate.

If the governor vetoes a bill after the regular session adjourns, a trailer session convenes fifteen days after the governor had acted on the last public act presented to him/her.  That session can last only three days and its sole purpose is to act on vetoed measures

Kill Points

1. If the legislature fails to obtain a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a gubernatorial veto, it is KILLED.