ANCOR

California: Governor’s Line-Item Vetoes in Budget Unconstitutional State Legislative Counsel Bureau Concludes: In the state’s revised budget, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) made line-item vetoes totaling $489 million, including cutting an additional $50 million from the state’s CHIP program, that Schwarzenegger said were necessary to maintain sufficient reserve funds. In responding the Democratic lawmakers who requested the review by the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB), the LCB determined that Schwarzenegger overstepped his constitutional authority, largely because the governor already exercised his line-item veto authority on previous appropriations in the state’s initial FY 09-10 budget enacted in February. The LCB also opined that the governor's line-item veto authority only can be used to decrease an appropriation and cannot be used to increase a budget reduction proposed by the Legislature. Schwarzenegger's Legal Affairs Secretary Andrea Lynn Hoch disagreed, stating that a budget, whether orginal or amended, can only contain legislative appropriations and a governor’s authority to veto appropriations is unquestioned, setting the stage for potential litigation over the line-item vetoes.