Court Opinion

ID: 9547980
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:55:37.365103+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:18:19.213150
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE ERICKSON
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I respectfully concur in part and dissent in part.
I concur in the majority’s opinion only to the extent that it holds that the gubernatorial vetoes in this proceeding are valid. The majority, in my view, reaches the correct result on the question of the vetoes’ validity, but does so without recognizing the clear mandate of our constitution. Vetoes which failed to comply with the letter of our constitution are upheld solely on the ground that the legislature has somehow ratified the governor’s constitutionally infirm vetoes by attempting to override them. The constitution, however, requires only a majority legislative vote in the absence of a valid gubernatorial veto. If the governor fails to comply with the letter of our constitution’s veto provisions, the legislative acts become law in the same manner as if the governor has signed them. Colo. Const. Art. IV, sec. 11.
The majority’s opinion is clearly inconsistent with its opinion in In Re Interrogatories of the Governor Regarding Bills of the Fifty-First General Assembly, 195 Colo. 198, 578 P.2d 200. The majority in that companion decision refused to be persuaded by a substantial compliance argument. Nonetheless, such an argument is in effect being accepted in this proceeding. No clear reason for the different result is evident to me. If the legislature attempts to override a gubernatorial veto and fails, the majority concludes that the purpose of the constitutional provisions has been met, notwithstanding the governor’s failure to comply with the letter of the constitution. Yet, if the governor fails to follow the letter of the constitution with respect to post-adjournment vetoes, the majority concludes that the purpose of the constitutional provisions has not been met. In Re Interrogatories of the Governor Regarding Bills of the Fifty-First General Assembly, supra. I am not convinced that the purpose of the constitutional veto provisions has not been satisfied by the governor’s actions.
Clear, unambiguous and mandatory constitutional provisions are not given prospective application by the majority opinion, and a new procedure, not contemplated by our constitution, is approved. If the governor does not veto and return the vetoed bill to the legislature within the constitutional time limitations, the majority opinion holds that the bill does not thereby become law as provided in our constitution, Colo. Const. Art. IV, *226sec. 11, but does so only if the legislature takes no action on the invalidly vetoed bills. If the legislature considers the bill and attempts to override the governor’s veto, but fails, then the majority opinion holds that the governor’s constitutionally infirm veto is valid, and the bill, contrary to the constitution, does not become law. The constitution does not establish such an uncertain procedure, but provides that failure of the governor to timely veto and return a bill results in the bill becoming law in the same manner as if the governor had signed it. Colo. Const. Art. IV, sec. 11. I believe the better approach, regardless of retroactive application, is to prospectively require strict compliance with the clear terms of our constitution.
The record in this proceeding, as well as that in the companion case involving the governor’s interrogatories, establishes that both the executive and legislative branches of government have failed to comply with clear constitutional mandates. I would, therefore, hold that past enactments and vetoes, which were carried out in accordance with heretofore non-controverted legislative and gubernatorial practice, are valid. Prospectively, I would endorse the position that both the governor and the legislature must strictly comply with the letter of the constitution, as interpreted herein, for the reasons set forth in my limited concurrence and dissent in In Re Interrogatories of the Governor Regarding Bills of the Fifty-First General Assembly, 195 Colo. 198, 578 P.2d 200.