A Refresher on the Governor’s Line-Item Veto Authority

Some Capitol observers are asking whether Governor Newsom may use his line-item veto authority over the Budget Bill Junior (AB 113) headed to his Desk for final action. As a result, a short refresher may be in order.

The Governor’s line-item veto authority is found in Subdivision (e) of Section 10 of Article IV of the California Constitution, As is often pointed out, while the Governor of California has this authority, the President of the United States does not have this 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.

As a result of this provision, California’s Governor has the authority to (1) reduce a line-item of appropriation or (2) eliminate the item of spending entirely. In the Budget Bill or a Budget Bill Junior, which have multiple appropriations, the Governor can reduce or eliminate line-items of the state budget and still sign the Budget Bill or BBJ itself.

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 of Article IV 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 over the Governor’s veto.

The Governor’s line-item veto authority is commonly referred to as the “blue pencil” authority because earlier governors used a blue pencil to reduce or eliminate appropriations in bills.