Opinion ID: 2824205
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Extension of Legislative Session

Text: [¶18] Before we address whether the Governor was prevented from returning his objections to the sixty-five bills under the circumstances set out above, however, we first address the alternative argument made by the Governor.5 [¶19] The Governor argues, pursuant to 3 M.R.S. § 2,6 that the First Regular Session of the 127th Legislature ended by operation of law on June 17, 2015, when the House and the Senate failed to extend the legislative session by the end of that 4 By providing for the return of the Governor’s objections at the next more-than-three-day session of the Legislature, the Maine Constitution precludes the operation of a “pocket veto” between sessions. See Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 2; Tinkle, The Maine State Constitution 90 (2d ed. 2013). Since the Constitution’s amendment in 1973, see Const. Res. 1973, ch. 2, passed in 1973, a pocket veto has only been possible after the final adjournment of the Second Regular Session of any Legislature, see Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 2. All parties are in agreement on this point. 5 We appreciate the Governor’s candor in reporting that this potential impediment to effective legislative action was not known to the Governor during the critical ten-day period and that the Governor did not originally rely on the extension process in applying the three-day provision of the Constitution. 6 Title 3 M.R.S. § 2 states: The first regular session of the Legislature, after its convening, shall adjourn no later than the 3rd Wednesday in June and the 2nd regular session of the Legislature shall adjourn no later than the 3rd Wednesday in April. The Legislature, in case of emergency, may by a vote of 2/3 of the members of each House present and voting, extend the date for adjournment for the first or 2nd regular session by no more than 5 legislative days, and in case of further emergency, may by a vote of 2/3 of the members of each House present and voting, further extend the date for adjournment by 5 additional legislative days. The times for adjournment for the first and 2nd regular sessions may also be extended for one additional legislative day for the purpose of considering possible objections of the Governor to any bill or resolution presented to him by the Legislature under the Constitution, Article IV, Part Third, Section 2. 10 day. See Me. Const. art IV, pt. 3, § 1 (authorizing the Legislature to “enact appropriate statutory limits on the length” of its sessions). [¶20] If the First Regular Session of the 127th Maine Legislature was adjourned with finality on June 17th, the Governor’s vetoes would, pursuant to Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 2, have to be presented to the next legislative session lasting more than three days. Thus, the possibility that the Legislature lost its capacity to act on June 18, 2015, without calling a new Special Session, cannot be overlooked in our analysis. [¶21] The Maine Constitution does not contain express limitations on the length of legislative sessions. It does expressly establish the opening date of the First and Second Sessions, and it provides that the Legislature has the authority to “enact appropriate statutory limits on the length” of those sessions. Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 1. Exercising that authority, the Legislature has statutorily allowed itself to extend the legislative session by a total of eleven legislative days—two five-day extensions, and an additional one-day extension “for the purpose of considering possible objections of the Governor to any bill or resolution presented to him by the Legislature under the Constitution.” 3 M.R.S. § 2. [¶22] The statutorily established adjournment date for the First Regular Session of the 127th Legislature was June 17, 2015. See id. (“The first regular session of the Legislature, after its convening, shall adjourn no later than the 3rd 11 Wednesday in June . . . .”). The Joint Order on the first motion to extend the legislative session is dated June 17, 2015. Sen. Advanced Jour. & Calendar, Supp. No. 19, S.P. 549 (127th Legis. June 17, 2015). Both Houses voted on the motion to extend on June 18, 2015, the day following the statutorily set date of adjournment. See Me. Sen., Roll Call No. 288 (127th Legis. June 18, 2015); Me. House, Roll Call No. 296 (127th Legis. June 18, 2015). Thus, the Governor argues, the vote occurred after the session had already ended by operation of law, potentially invalidating all subsequent legislative action. [¶23] For the reasons set out below, it is our opinion that, on the facts presented here, the First Regular Session of the 127th Maine Legislature was not effectively adjourned by the operation of the statutory adjournment date, and the Legislature was not stripped of its ability to act on June 18, 2015. There are a number of factors that inform our analysis of this issue. [¶24] First, and perhaps most importantly, it is affirmatively the role of the Legislature to say when it is in session. See Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 1; NLRB v. Canning, --- U.S. ---, 134 S. Ct. 2550, 2574-75 (2014); see also Me. Const. art. III, § 2 (providing for the distribution and exclusivity of powers of the three branches of government); Sawyer v. Gilmore, 109 Me. 169, 180, 83 A. 673 (1912); Opinion of the Justices, 7 Me. 483, 489-90 (1830). There was no procedural objection by any member of the Legislature to the extension of the session at the June 18th vote, 12 nor does any legislator now challenge the validity of the extension.7 To the contrary, both Houses were in substantial agreement about the need to extend the session, the motion was dated June 17th, the members of the House voted to pass the motion in numbers well beyond the two-thirds vote required pursuant to 3 M.R.S. § 2, and the Senate passed the motion unanimously. [¶25] Second, neither the Constitution nor the statute expressly requires the Legislature to act to extend the session before midnight on the statutorily established date. The absence of any such constitutional limitation is critical to the analysis given the Legislature’s powers to act on behalf of the people unless limited by the Constitution. See Sawyer, 109 Me. at 180, 83 A. 673. Indeed, the Constitution expressly provides that neither House can adjourn for more than two days without the consent of the other House: Section 12. Adjournments. Neither House shall during the session, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 2 days, nor to any other place than that in which the Houses shall be sitting. Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, § 12. That express constitutional limitation on the power of the Houses to adjourn must be understood to control over any statutorily established adjournment date. In other words, once the First Regular Session 7 When questioned at Oral Argument regarding the Governor’s contention that the legislative session ended by operation of law on June 17th, counsel for the three Republican Members of the House of Representatives agreed that the Legislature’s June 18th vote effectively extended the session. 13 began, that legislative session could not be adjourned for more than two days without the constitutionally required consent of both Houses. [¶26] Finally, the Legislature has the exclusive authority to set its own rules of procedure, see Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, §§ 1, 4, which includes the power to “ratify any action that it had the power to authorize in advance and the ratification dates back to the action that was ratified.” William T. Pound, Nat’l Conference of State Legislatures, Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure § 146(6) at 114 (2010 ed.); see id. § 443 at 294; Me. Sen. R. 520 (127th Legis. Dec. 3, 2014) (“The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in ‘Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure’ or any other standard authority, govern the Senate in all cases in which they are applicable . . . .”); Me. House R. 522 (127th Legis. Dec. 3, 2014) (“Mason’s Rules govern the House in all cases in which they are applicable . . . .”). [¶27] On this record, where no affirmative language of the Constitution or statute requires the extension vote to occur at a particular time, where the vote to extend came within twenty-four hours of the statutory adjournment date, where the motion to extend was extant before that adjournment date, and where no member of the Legislature objected to the process used to establish the extension, we conclude that neither the Judicial Branch nor the Executive Branch has the constitutional authority to question the validity of the June 18th extension, and we 14 accept the assertion of the Maine Legislature that the extension was procedurally appropriate.