By: Birdwell, Eckhardt S.J.R. No. 39
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to
override a veto of the governor following a regular session of the
legislature.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 14, Article IV, Texas Constitution, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14. (a) Every bill which shall have passed both houses
of the Legislature shall be presented to the Governor for [his]
approval. If the Governor approves of the bill, the Governor [he
approve he] shall sign it. If the Governor disapproves of the bill,
the Governor[; but if he disapprove it, he] shall return it, with
[his] objections, to the House in which it originated. The House to
which the bill is returned[, which House] shall enter the
objections at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider the
bill [it]. If after [such] reconsideration[,] two-thirds of the
members present agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the
objections, to the other House, by which likewise it shall be
reconsidered. If[; and, if] approved by two-thirds of the members
of that House, the bill [it] shall become a law. In[; but in] such
cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays,
and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall
be entered on the journal of each House respectively.
(b) If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor with
[his] objections within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall
have been presented to the Governor [him], the same shall be a law,
in like manner as if [he had] signed by the Governor [it], unless
the Legislature, by its adjournment, prevent its return, in which
case it shall be a law, unless the Governor [he] shall file the bill
[same], with [his] objections, in the office of the Secretary of
State and give notice thereof by public proclamation within twenty
days after such adjournment.
(c) If any bill presented to the Governor contains several
items of appropriation, the Governor [he] may object to one or more
of such items, and approve the other portion of the bill. In such
case the Governor [he] shall append to the bill [Bill], at the time
of signing it, a statement of the items to which the Governor [he]
objects, and no item so objected to shall take effect. If the
Legislature be in session, the Governor [he] shall transmit to the
House in which the bill originated a copy of such statement and the
items objected to shall be separately considered. If, on
reconsideration, one or more of such items be approved by
two-thirds of the members present of each House, the same shall be
part of the law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. If
any such bill, containing several items of appropriation, not
having been presented to the Governor ten days (Sundays excepted)
prior to adjournment, be in the hands of the Governor at the time of
adjournment, the Governor [he] shall have twenty days from such
adjournment within which to file objections to any items thereof in
the office of the Secretary of State and make proclamation of the
same, and such item or items shall not take effect.
(d) Subsection (e) of this section applies only to a bill or
item of appropriation that was:
(1) passed by the Legislature during a regular session
and received at least two-thirds vote of the members present in at
least one House or, for an item of appropriation, was contained in a
bill that passed as described by this subdivision;
(2) disapproved or objected to by the Governor on or
after the 10th day before the date the Legislature adjourned the
regular session; and
(3) not reconsidered under this section by both Houses
during that session.
(e) The Legislature shall meet at 10 a.m. on the 22nd day
following the date the Legislature adjourns each regular session to
reconsider any bill or item of appropriation to which this
subsection applies, but only if there are such bills or items of
appropriation to reconsider. The period for reconsideration may
not exceed five consecutive days, Sundays excepted. During this
period, unless the Legislature has been called into special session
by the Governor, the Legislature may not consider any subject other
than the reconsideration of bills or items of appropriation to
which this subsection applies. Reconsideration of a bill or item of
appropriation during this period is conducted in the manner
provided by Subsection (a) or (c) of this section, as applicable,
except that a bill or item of appropriation disapproved or objected
to by the Governor after the Legislature adjourns that was passed by
at least two-thirds of the members present in only one House must
first be reconsidered by that House, regardless of whether the bill
or item of appropriation originated in that House.
SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to allow the
legislature to override a veto of the governor following a regular
session of the legislature."