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Rants v. Vilsack6/16/2004
Appeal from a district court ruling upholding the Governor's exercise of his item veto power. REVERSED AND REMANDED.
In this appeal, we consider whether Governor Thomas J. Vilsack (Governor) properly exercised the item veto power granted Iowa's governor by the Iowa Constitution when he vetoed several sections of an economic development bill passed by the general assembly (Legislature). After carefully scrutinizing the Governor's exercise of the item veto power in this case, we determine that his power was impermissibly exercised because the Governor attempted to veto items that were not part of an appropriation bill and thus were not subject to his item veto power. As a result of the Governor's unconstitutional action, his attempted disapproval of portions of the bill has been rendered a nullity and ineffective. Moreover, by operation of the Iowa Constitution, no portion of the bill-including provisions approved by the Governor-became law because the bill as a whole failed to receive the affirmative approval of both the Legislature and Governor. Ultimately, we reverse the decision of the district court and remand this case for entry of summary judgment in favor of the Legislature.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
During the course of his annual message to the Legislature in January 2003, the Governor outlined several policy positions and initiatives that he hoped to see accomplished during the legislative session. See Iowa Const. art. IV, § 12 ("[The Governor] shall communicate, by message, to the General Assembly, at every regular session, the condition of the State, and recommend such matters as he shall deem expedient."). Key among the Governor's priorities was the stimulation and development of the state's economy. The core initiative suggested by the Governor for this purpose was the creation of an "Iowa Values Fund" (Values Fund), a monetary depository from which funds could be provided to certain persons or entities in hopes of stimulating various sectors of the state's economy. While the precise contours of this initiative had yet to take form, at least publicly, the Governor suggested to the Legislature that the program would be most successful if $500,000,000 was committed to the Values Fund over a five-year period.
As is prone to happening, particularly in times of divided government, the Legislature and the Governor had difficulty reaching an agreement on the best methods for economic development and the specific nature of the Values Fund. In particular, some members of the Legislature contended that successful economic development required tax and regulatory reform in addition to a large monetary commitment. While the Governor was not necessarily opposed to tax and regulatory reform in principle, he expressed his clear opinion that any tax reform should be "revenue neutral"-that is, it should not cause a depletion in the state's budget that might force the redistribution of state funds-and any regulatory reform should be equitable.
Near the time designated for the adjournment of the legislative session, the Iowa House of Representatives passed House File 683 (HF 683), a lengthy bill that, among other things, created a Values Fund, designated its management by a newly-created governmental board, and appropriated funds to support the program. The Iowa Senate did not vote on HF 683 before the session adjourned, however, dealing a setback to the Governor and his economic development priorities. See id. art. III, § 17 ("No bill shall be passed unless by the assent of a majority of all the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly....").
On May 29, 2003, the Governor issued a proclamation reconvening the Legislature
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