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Management Council of Legislature v. Geringer2/11/1998
The significant substantive question certified to this Court by the district court is whether the Governor has constitutional authority to veto portions of a bill which makes appropriations, but which does not make any appropriation in the portion of the bill that is vetoed. A threshold question is whether the plaintiffs in this declaratory judgment action have standing to pursue that remedy. In an effort to add focus to the standing question, this Court requested the parties to brief certain additional questions, and of its own motion raised the possibility of a violation of the separation of powers doctrine if the Court instead of the Legislature were to override the veto. We will recognize standing under the doctrine that acknowledges standing in matters of great public interest and importance, and we uphold the partial vetoes by the Governor as comporting with the clear language of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming. The first certified question is answered "Yes," and the second certified question is answered "Yes."
The certified questions the Court agreed to answer are:
1. Did the Governor have the power under Article 4, Section 9 of the Wyoming Constitution to veto portions of House Enrolled Act No. 2, enacted during the 1997 Special Session on School Finance Reform?
2. Do individual legislators or the Management Council of the Legislature have legal standing to sue the Governor regarding the exercise of his partial veto power under Article 4, Section 9 of the Wyoming Constitution?
These are stated as the issues in both the Brief of Appellants and the Brief of Appellee. No new issue is suggested in the Reply Brief of Appellants. In their Supplemental Briefs, the parties addressed the questions set forth by the Court, which were:
1. Whether WYO. STAT. § 28-8-114 (1997) constitutes a special law regulating the practice in courts of justice, in contravention of Article 3, § 27 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming?
2. Whether Article 4, § 8 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming provides an adequate remedy to the legislative department, making declaratory relief inappropriate?
3. Whether the judicial department is being requested, in effect, to exercise the authority of the legislative department under Article 4, § 8 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming, and, if so, whether the action of the judicial department would infringe upon the powers reserved to the legislative department, in violation of Article 2, § 1 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming?
4. Whether, in light of the allegations of Paragraph 17 of the Complaint for Declaratory Relief, the individual plaintiffs were disqualified from voting in this instance by the provisions of Article 3, § 46 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming?
During a special session of the Legislature called by the Governor in 1997, the Legislature adopted House Enrolled Act 2 (HEA 2). This legislation was the response by the Legislature to the decision of this Court in Campbell County School Dist. v. State, 907 P.2d 1238 (1995). After it was signed by the appropriate officers of the legislature and its staff, it was presented to the Governor. In the enacting clause, HEA 2 states that it is an act "providing for appropriations," and multiple appropriations of moneys appear in the body of the act. The Legislature adjourned promptly after its action on HEA 2 was completed, and the Governor could not return it within 3 days in accordance with the constitutional process for vetoing legislation. Since the Legislature, by its adjournment prevented the return of HEA 2 by the Governor in three days, he had fiftee
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