Lens on the Legislature: Onward to the Governor

Previous Lens on the Legislature columns have discussed the process for a bill to become engrossed in its originating chamber, acted on in the second chamber and perhaps in a conference committee, and if successful, enrolled and signed by the presiding officers of both chambers. This week, a bill authored by Sen. Kip Averitt and sponsored by Rep. Larry Taylor was the first to make it through that process. SB88 was signed by the president of the Senate (the lieutenant governor) on Monday and the speaker of the House on Tuesday. It was then sent to the governor on Tuesday.

Article 4, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution allows the governor ten days (excluding Sundays) in which to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature. If the governor elects to veto the bill while the legislature will remain in session for many more weeks, the bill would be returned to the originating chamber (in this case, the Senate) with an explanation of his objections. A two-thirds majority in each house would be required to override the veto. If the governor neither vetoes nor signs the bill within the allotted time, the bill will become law automatically. As we approach the end of the session, if a bill is sent to the governor within 10 days (excluding Sundays) of final adjournment (known as "adjournment sine die"), the governor will have until 20 days (counting Sundays) after final adjournment to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.

Adjournment sine die (the 140th day of the session) is scheduled for May 30th; the 20th day following final adjournment is Sunday, June 19th.

The online list of actions for SB88 shows 37 recorded events that have occurred so far. There are also links to the votes that were recorded.

Lists of bills that are signed by the governor or vetoed by the governor are also available online.

Last week's Lens on the Legislature mentioned two key procedural methods to improve a bill's chances of success. Both were used in this case, which may be why it was the first bill to succeed. The first method was that it was sponsored by a member of the committee of jurisdiction in the second chamber. In this case, Rep. Taylor is a member of the House Insurance Committee. The second was the filing of a companion bill - in this case HB935. In fact, the technique mentioned in last week's article - bringing up a companion bill in lieu of one that is already scheduled - was used in this case.

Finally, if the governor signs a bill, when does it become effective?

Article 3, Section 39 of the Texas Constitution states that no law, except the general appropriation act, shall take effect until ninety days after the adjournment of the session, unless the Legislature, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, directs otherwise. A list of bills that are effective immediately is available online.

Because legislative sessions can begin as late as January 14th, this constitutional requirement would mean that in those years no bill (without the required two-thirds vote) could be effective prior to September 1st. It has therefore become common practice to state September 1st as the effective date for most bills. Since the 79th Regular Session began on January 11th, bills without specific effective dates (and that could not be made effective immediately) become law on Monday, August 29th.