(a) Every bill which shall have passed the General Assembly shall be presented to the Governor. The Governor shall have seven days after the day of presentment to act upon such bill as follows:

(1) He may sign it, in which event it shall become a law. (2) He may veto it:

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Terms Used In Indiana Constitution Article 5 Section 14

  • Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.

(A) In the event of a veto while the General Assembly is in session, he shall return such bill, with his objections, within seven days of presentment, to the House in which it originated. If the Governor does not return the bill within seven days of presentment, the bill becomes a law notwithstanding the veto.

(B) If the Governor returns the bill under clause (A), the House in which the bill originated shall enter the Governor’s objections at large upon its journals and proceed to reconsider and vote upon whether to approve the bill. The bill must be reconsidered and voted upon within the time set out in clause (C). If, after such reconsideration and vote, a majority of all the members elected to that House shall approve the bill, it shall be sent, with the Governor’s objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered and voted upon, and, if approved by a majority of all the members elected to that House, it shall be a law.

(C) If the Governor returns the bill under clause (A), the General Assembly shall reconsider and vote upon the approval of the bill before the final adjournment of the next regular session of the General Assembly that follows the regular or special session in which the bill was originally passed. If the House in which the bill originated does not approve the bill under clause (B), the other House is not required to reconsider and vote upon the approval of the bill. If, after voting, either House fails to approve the bill within this time, the veto is sustained.

(D) In the event of a veto after final adjournment of a session of the General Assembly, such bill shall be returned by the Governor to the House in which it originated on the first day that the General Assembly is in session after such adjournment, which House shall proceed in the same manner as with a bill vetoed before adjournment. The bill must be reconsidered and voted upon within the time set out in clause (C). If such bill is not so returned, it shall be a law notwithstanding such veto.

(3) He may refuse to sign or veto such bill in which event it shall become a law without his signature on the eighth day after presentment to the Governor.

(b) Every bill presented to the Governor which is signed by him or on which he fails to act within said seven days after presentment shall be filed with the Secretary of State within ten days of presentment. The failure to so file shall not prevent such a bill from becoming a law.

(c) In the event a bill is passed over the Governor’s veto, such bill shall be filed with the Secretary of State without further presentment to the Governor, provided that, in the event of such passage over the Governor’s veto in the next succeeding General Assembly, the passage shall be deemed to have been the action of the General Assembly which initially passed such bill.

(History: As Amended November 7, 1972; November 6, 1990).