 Quinn has vetoed 30 pieces of legislation from the 97th General
Assembly, which was sworn in, in January. Lawmakers will return to
Springfield on Oct. 25 to act on the governor's vetoes.But an
analysis of vetoes from the 96th General Assembly does not bode well
for Quinn. The governor has a poor track record with his vetoes,
with almost 90 percent being overturned or left to die in the
Legislature.
From July 2010 to January, Quinn vetoed 18 pieces of legislation
passed during the 96th General Assembly.
Lawmakers accepted only one veto, which changed the effective
date on a law that dealt with substitute teacher registration.
Another line-item/reduction veto on the state budget was allowed to
stand.
Of the remaining vetoes, lawmakers overrode three: Quinn's bid to
create a citizens’ initiative process, to keep evaluations for only
police officers and prison guards out of the public record, and to
change another effective date.
Thirteen vetoes died either because lawmakers did not have votes
to accept or override the veto or never called the vetoed
legislation for a vote.
That should not be surprising to anyone in Springfield,
especially Quinn, said Jim Nowlan, former state representative and
current senior fellow at the Institute of Government and Public
Affairs at the University of Illinois.
"In about the 1980s, when Jim Thompson was governor, Speaker of
the House Mike Madigan felt the governor was trying to make
substantive changes with his amendatory vetoes," said Nowlan. "The
speaker decided not to take up those amendatory vetoes. That
resulted in a total veto of the legislation."
In other words, Nowlan said that Madigan, D-Chicago, decided the
Legislature not only writes the laws but interprets most amendatory
vetoes as going beyond the scope of a governor's power.
Quinn "can almost be assured that if he applies an amendatory
veto that is substantive in nature -- that is, makes a significant
change in the original legislation -- it will not be acted on by the
speaker," Nowlan added.
Nowlan's assessment of what he calls the "Madigan rule" bears
out.
In 2010, 15 of Quinn's 18 vetoes were amendatory vetoes. The
Illinois Constitution gives the governor the power to change a
portion of the legislation, rather than having to veto the entire
proposal. The only amendatory veto accepted by lawmakers last year
-- the only veto of any kind accepted in 2010 -- changed the
effective date on legislation dealing with substitute teachers.
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In every case where Quinn changed the substance of legislation,
lawmakers left the governor's changes to wither and die in the
legislative process.
For example, legislation that would have prevented the governor
from sweeping funding away from fire prevention was never called for
a vote in the fall veto session after Quinn tweaked the proposal to
give his office access to 2.5 percent of the money.
Other vetoes were called in the House but not the Senate, or vice
versa.
University of Illinois at Springfield political science professor
Kent Redfield said the "Madigan rule" is unwritten, but clear.
"When (a governor) writes a very broad amendatory veto or throws
something into an amendatory veto that is not related to the subject
of the bill, you are treading on the prerogative of the legislative
branch," added Redfield.
Quinn has issued 30 vetoes so far in 2011, 16 of which are
amendatory vetoes.
Redfield said the governor can expect many of those amendatory
vetoes to die this year as well.
Quinn's spokeswoman, Annie Thompson, focused on Quinn's veto
intentions.
"Quinn will continue working to make sure our laws continue to
protect consumers and strengthen ethics and transparency in
government," she said.
But Redfield warns that the governor's good intentions may not
pay off.
"Quinn is in a situation where he is perceived as being weak,"
Redfield said. "He's use(d) his amendatory vetoes in ways that
haven't had anything to do with using his leverage, so he hasn't
been as effective."
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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