Sen. Vick brings back proposal to let Legislature call itself into special session to override a veto

Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, is bringing back his proposal to change the Idaho Constitution to allow the Legislature to call itself back into special session, solely for the purpose of overriding a veto by the governor. Vick proposed the same constitutional amendment in 2014 and it passed the Senate, but never got a hearing in the House.

“It’s actually something we did in Montana,” where Vick previously served four terms as a state representative, he said. “It just seems appropriate that you should be able to do that, to maintain the balance of power between the three branches of government.” Vick said he only remembered it happening in Montana one time.

“So many important bills pass late in the session,” he said. The 2014 bill, SJR 106, passed the Senate on a 28-6 vote, easily meeting the required two-thirds margin, but died in the House State Affairs Committee. Amending Idaho’s Constitution requires both a two-thirds vote in each house of the Legislature, and a majority vote of the people at the next general election. Idaho’s Constitution, in Article IV, Section 10 , details current veto procedures. Vick’s measure would make this addition to the section: “Upon the veto of a bill following the adjournment of the legislature, the governor, upon the joint request of the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate, shall call the legislature back into session to reconsider the vetoed bill as provided by law.”

Only the governor may call special sessions of the Legislature, under Article IV, Section 9 of the Idaho Constitution.

“There’s only six states that do not have this ability,” Vick told the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning. After asking Vick several questions, the senators on the panel voted unanimously to introduce the bill.