Veto Session Approaches
Passing a piece of legislation is not easy. For a bill to become law, it must receive many votes of approval before it lands on the governor’s desk. Some bills slide through fairly unaltered; others are revised by various committees, or have amendments added from other bills as lawmakers debate the issues in their prospective legislative chambers. The final step is with the governor’s signature or veto of all or part of a bill. The governor may also choose not to sign or veto a bill, in which case it still becomes law without his endorsement.
The Missouri House and Senate introduced nearly 2,300 pieces of legislation this year, but only 138 of those bills wound up on the governor’s desk: 57 from the Senate and 81 from the House.
This year’s veto deadline was July 15. The governor signed 109 bills, vetoed 22 bills, two of which were overridden during the legislative session, and left three bills unsigned, resulting in the passage of those bills without his signature.
Veto session is now scheduled for September 14 this year. Here, the General Assembly has an opportunity to override or uphold the governor’s vetoes. We are looking forward to making our voices heard as these measures are once again brought up in the Senate and House.
As always, I encourage my constituents to contact me throughout the year with comments, questions or suggestions by calling my office at (573) 751-5713. To find more information about the bills I sponsor, visit www.senate.mo.gov/brown. Thank you for reading this and for your participation in state government.