Nebraska Legislature and Gov. Pillen clash over constitutionality of vetoes

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKK) — Nebraska’s legislative and executive branches are in a constitutional confrontation over the validity of four of the governor’s vetoes.

On Thursday, the Legislature sent a letter to Gov. Jim Pillen saying his line-item vetoes in the budget bills were not delivered by the midnight deadline.

Pillen issued the vetoes about 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to his office, and sent copies of the bills to both the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s Office.

The Governor’s Office said the clerk of the Legislature received those copies on Wednesday night.

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But the Legislature said it did not receive the actual physical bills until Thursday morning.

At midnight, the bills were in the possession of the Secretary of State’s Office, which then delivered them to the Legislature.

Under the Nebraska Constitution, the governor has five days (not counting Sundays) to return a bill to the Legislature with a veto.

If he or she does not, it automatically becomes law.

So lawmakers did not vote on whether to override the vetoes, saying they did not meet constitutional requirements.

The Legislature said it was sending the budget back to the governor “pending further determination regarding the constitutionality of the present circumstances.”

But the governor’s office claimed that Pillen followed standard practice.

“The timely transmittal of line-item veto items to the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office yesterday was not only consistent with past procedural practice for such actions, but also with the express and specific logistical requests of those offices,” spokeswoman Laura Strimple said in a statement. “Through this process, the Governor clearly took the legally required steps to exercise his veto authority by surrendering physical possession and the power to approve or reject the bills.”

The Governor’s Office said it is consulting with the Attorney General’s Office on next steps.

Pillen vetoed about $14.5 million out of the $11 billion two-year budget.