After languishing in House Committee since January, a Senate Joint Resolution which would give the Fono veto override power was passed by the House of Representatives on Friday.
The House voted twice on the measure. On Thursday, the bill did not garner enough votes to pass with 6 representatives supporting it and 6 voting no. A motion to reconsider the measure was passed on Friday and during the second vote the resolution was approved unanimously.
Currently, a bill that is vetoed by the Governor can be repassed by both chambers by a two thirds majority. If the Governor does not sign the bill into law within 15 days, he shall send the bill together with his comments to the Secretary of the Interior. If the secretary approves the bill within 90 days after its receipt, it shall become law. If the Secretary doesn’t act on the bill, it dies.
The change that has now been passed by both the House and Senate provides that once the Governor vetoes a bill, the Fono can override his veto power by passing the bill again. The bill then becomes law.
The veto override amendment has been on the ballot several times, but has never passed.
