Maine’s high court spurns LePage in veto dispute
Source: Portland Press Herald
Maine’s top court has ruled against Gov. Paul LePage in his dispute with the Legislature over whether he has more time to veto 65 bills already processed into law, delivering a significant blow to a governor already engulfed in withering criticism and scrutiny seven months into his second term.
The court’s advisory opinion ruled that the governor misread the Maine Constitution when he failed to veto 65 bills within the 10-period prescribed by law. LePage’s legal team argued that the Legislature prevented the governor from returning the vetoes because lawmakers had temporarily adjourned. However, six justices on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court rejected the reasoning in its ruling.
In its essence, the 55-page opinion asserted that while the constitutional provision describing a situation that prevents the governor from returning bills is ambiguous, the Legislature determines when it’s in session and when it adjourns, not the governor.
“It follows that the Governor’s authority to object to legislation, to communicate those objections to the Legislature, and to require the Legislature to consider and act upon those objections must not be limited or infringed upon,” the court wrote. “In counterbalance, because the Executive (the governor) is not endowed in American democracy with absolute veto power, the Legislature must be able to anticipate and act upon the Governor’s objections and, where it determines it appropriate, override those objections.”
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Read more: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/08/06/maines-high-court-spurns-lepage-in-veto-dispute/
Poor Penguin
= new reply since forum marked as read
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or at least he'll try because he still has no clue about the Maine constitution.
