WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1985-1986


    .... In some cases sections were listed as vetoed in the Governor's message
which were not
    marked as vetoed on the Act deposited with the Secretary of State. In
other cases sec-
    tions were marked on the Act as having been vetoed which were not mentioned
in the
    Governor's message to the Legislature. On or about August 4, 1981, the
Governor
    submitted an amended message to the Legislature seeking to correct or
clarify many of
    the errors or omissions of the original message.
       The Governor's attempt to correct or clarify with an amended message
in my opinion
    is completely ineffective. Not only had the Governor put the bill beyond
his reach with
    the first message and deposit with the Secretary of State, but the six-day
limitation for
    veto action imposed by the Constitution had also run.

    In 1974, Governor Lucey allowed 1973 Senate Bill 338, "relating
to exemp-
tions from civil liability for refusal to perform abortions", to become
law
without his signature. The Senate Chief Clerk noted in the journal (Senate
Journal 1/21/74, page 2001) that the bill was: "Deposited in the office
of the Secre-
tary of State pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution, on Mon-
day, January 21, 1974. Chapter No. 159" (Laws of 1973).

   In returning the unsigned bill to the Senate, Governor Lucey had taken
the
unusual step of providing a written statement of his reasons (Senate Journal,
page
1999):
      The issues raised by Senate Bill 338 include some of the most deeply-felt
and strongly
    argued moral and political questions of our time .... I personally believe
abortion to be
    morally wrong. As Governor of Wisconsin, however, I recognize that many
citizens of
    this State do not share this viewpoint, and that the Supreme Court has
confirmed the
    constitutionality of their position.
      .... The legal and health care policy questions raised by this bill
caused me to seriously
    consider its veto. I decided against this course of action only after
becoming convinced
    that a veto would not eliminate existing hospital restrictions against
abortion or sterili-
    zation nor prevent the adoption of such prohibitions by additional health
care institu-
    tions. The bill merely permits, but does not require such prohibitions.
Thus, the validity
    of such prohibitions - whether or not adopted under the provisions of
Senate Bill 338
    --becomes a question for the courts. But because of the serious reservations
I have
    about the legality and wisdom of certain parts of this bill, I have withheld
my formal
    approval of the measure.                               Respectfully submitted,
                                                              PATRICK J.
LUCEY
                                                                  Governor
   January 21, 1974, was a day on which the Legislature was in one of its
committee work periods. Floorperiod IV, scheduled by 1973 Enrolled Joint
Resolution 4, would begin on January 29. There had not been a final (sine
die) adjournment of the Legislature. Although the Constitution still provides
for a "pocket veto" when the Legislature, by final adjournment,
prevents the
return of the bill from the Governor's office to the house of origin, it
is un-
likely that a pocket veto can ever occur. Since 1961, each Wisconsin Legisla-
ture has conducted scheduled sessions and committee periods throughout the
entire 24-month period of the biennium.
   Most enrolled bills presented to the Governor for approval are signed
into
law. Usually, there is a signing ceremony attended by the press, the principal
sponsors of the proposal and other persons interested in the new law.


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