Perry’s veto clock runs slow

May 17, 2007

By Ben Wear, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATEMAN

So, how long does Gov. Rick Perry have to decide what to do with HB 1892, the toll road bill he wants to die?

Perry’s office says he has until 11:59 p.m. Friday, and everyone seems to be going along with that. But it takes a flexible interpretation of the Texas Constitution to come up with that time.

Here’s the relevant excerpt of what the Constitution says about a governor and his consideration of bills from the Legislature: “If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor with his objections within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law … “

The Constitution, at least in this section, does not define what a “day” is. Under the interpretation of Perry’s office, he’ll actually have 10 days, 14 hours and 44 minutes to make a decision. His office received the bill at 9:15 a.m. on Monday, May 7. To get to Perry’s interpretation, you pretty much have to treat May 7 as Day Zero and assume that the 10-day clock didn’t start ticking until May 7 turned into May 8.

That extra time of almost 15 hours is not an inconsequential difference, under the circumstances.

The Legislature is scrambling to pass a replacement bill, SB 792, and to get it done before Perry has to veto HB 1892. This is not a drop-dead thing — the Legislature could still pass SB 792 and Perry could sign it even after an HB 1892 veto — but for a variety of political, tactical and symbolic reasons everybody really wants it to go down that way.

But with SB 792 just getting to the House floor today, and needing two days to pass, a 9:15 a.m. Friday deadline probably would be too soon. Waiting until the cusp of midnight, however, gives the House another working day.

Absent a Texas Constitutional scholar raising a stink, however, this is the interpretation that will carry the day. Or maybe that’s a day plus 14 hours and 44 minutes.