Frequently Asked Questions about Governor’s Line-Item Veto Authority

Where is the Governor’s line-item veto authority found? In Subdivision (e) of Section 10 of Article IV of the California Constitution, the Governor is granted the line-item veto authority for the budget and appropriations bills.

Is this authority the same on the federal and state levels? No, while the Governor of California has this authority, the President of the United States does not have such authority.

What is the language of this constitutional authority? The following is the language of this constitutional provision:

(e) The Governor may reduce or eliminate one or more items of

appropriation while approving other portions of a bill. The Governor

shall append to the bill a statement of the items reduced or

eliminated with the reasons for the action. The Governor shall

transmit to the house originating the bill a copy of the statement

and reasons. Items reduced or eliminated shall be separately

reconsidered and may be passed over the Governor’s veto in

the same manner as bills.

What is the Governor’s line-item authority? The Governor has the authority to (1) reduce a line-item or (2) eliminate the item of spending entirely. In the budget bill, which has multiple appropriations, the Governor can reduce or eliminate line-items of the state budget and still sign the budget bill itself.

What must the Governor do with a line-item veto? Just as with other bills that the Governor may veto, he or she must explain the reason for the line-item veto and follow the same process used for other vetoed bills. Subdivision (a) of Section 10 provides for the veto of bills, explaining that the Governor must return the bill to its house of origin with any objections to the bill. If 2/3 majorities of both houses vote to override the veto, then the bill becomes a statute.

Can the Legislature override a line-item veto? Yes, any budget or appropriations bills in which items of spending were reduced or eliminated may be subject to a veto override and the items reduced or eliminated must be separately considered for purposes of a veto override. If the veto override is successful, then the reduced or eliminated appropriation is restored as approved by the Legislature.

Why is the line-item veto authority referred to as the “blue pencil” authority? Because earlier governors used a blue pencil to reduce or eliminate appropriations in bills.