AG Madigan to GOP leaders: Nope
Sunday, Aug 13, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You may recall this unusual letter sent earlier this month by the two Republican legislative leaders to Attorney General Lisa Madigan…
In conclusion, we are concerned that the General Assembly may jeopardize the date on which SB1 may constitutionally become effective if the General Assembly pursues an outright veto override motion. It appears that the decision to delay SB1’s passage until July 31, 2017, may prevent the General Assembly from making an SB1 veto effective before June 1, 2018. If that is the case, the evidence-based funding formula established by SB1 may only be used this August to distribute school funding to schools across the state if the legislature adopts the Governor’s amendatory veto by a three-fifths vote.
AG Madigan issued her response today. Click here to read it. Essentially, she says that the effective date would be the date that the governor’s AV is overridden or the date that the governor certifies that the GA has accepted his recommendations for change.
- Norseman - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 3:44 pm:
Yes.
- Anonymous - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 3:52 pm:
This is a plain reading of the law, and should not be controversial.
- Fax Machine - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 4:22 pm:
If this went to court, this analysis would hold up - that the date of passage was May 31. However the Illinois Constitution also states that bills must be sent to the Governor within 30 days of passage and that this can be judicially enforced, which means that in the future in a similar situation, a Governor will he able to go to Court on June 30th to force the bill onto his desk if a similar hold is placed on a bill passed on May 31 without 3/5.
- Fax Machine - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 4:24 pm:
Frankly, if the Best Team in America had any idea what was in the Illinois Constitution, they should have filed a petition on June 30 or July 1 to judicially force the Senate to deliver the bill, but they’re more worried about retweeting cartoons of Rich.
- Rich Miller - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 4:56 pm:
Fax, that would be an interesting court case, but I don’t see the Illinois judiciary meddling that deeply into longstanding GA rules. Even so, I think that would’ve been the better argument.
- Norseman - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 5:08 pm:
Rich Miller +1
- Grand Avenue - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 6:51 pm:
In general, courts do try to avoid meddling with the legislative process. However, Article IV, Section 9(a) says that:
“Every bill passed by the General Assembly shall be presented to the Governor within 30 calendar days after its passage. The foregoing
requirement shall be judicially enforceable.”
So they are actually constitutionally mandated to get involved.
- Grand Avenue - Sunday, Aug 13, 17 @ 6:55 pm:
It’s interesting, because that appears to be the only part of Article IV that uses the “judicially enforceable” language. I wonder what motivated that - it’s not in the 1870 Constitution, so at the Convention there must have been some reason they decided to stick it in there.