Committee approves bill clarifying receipt and time‑stamping of governor’s veto messages

Senators passed Senate Bill 344 in executive action after discussion about a prior legal dispute over where a vetoed bill was located and how the receipt was recorded.

Sponsor Senator Hertz introduced the bill as a targeted fix to ensure that when the governor returns a bill without approval, the governor may deliver the bill and message to either the chief clerk of the House or the secretary of the Senate and that the receiving officer must time‑stamp and record the receipt. Supporters said the language would prevent the procedural confusion that led to last session’s court involvement.

Senators described the prior dispute as a legal “black hole” that generated a writ of mandamus and court orders. Senator Fuller and others said the bill would make the process clear by requiring physical delivery and an immediate time stamp so the legislature and public know when a veto was received. Legislative Services staff confirmed the proposed language would place a clear statutory duty on clerks to accept and record delivery.

The Judiciary and court procedure implications were discussed at length; several senators said the bill does not solve every possible constitutional edge case but would “come pretty darn close” to fixing the problem that produced litigation last session. The committee adopted the motion that Senate Bill 344 do pass by voice vote and will send the measure to the full Senate.

Why it matters: supporters said SB 344 would remove uncertainty about the timing and location of veto receipts and thereby reduce the chance of future lawsuits about whether the legislature received a veto in time to act.

Next steps: the committee approved the bill by voice vote and it will be placed on the Senate floor calendar for further consideration.