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Veto
A veto refers to the ability to reject a decision or proposal made by a legislative body. Typically, this refers to the ability of a member of the executive branch of a government to reject legislation from the government's legislative branch. In some cases, although an executive may have veto power, the legislative body may override the veto with sufficient votes. For example, the president of the United States may veto legislation that has passed the House and Senate, preventing it from becoming law. However, Congress may override the veto via a two-thirds vote in both chambers.[1]
In addition to the president, state governors also have veto authority for bills passed by their state's legislature, and in some states, governors may veto specific portions of a bill while allowing others to pass. Veto types may include line-item (a governor can veto specific items from a piece of legislation), reduction (a governor may delete budget-related items), and amendatory (a governor may amend a part of the legislation). There may also be restrictions on specific types of vetoes. For example, in Minnesota, the governor can only line-item veto appropriations bills. In the majority of states, a bill will become law without a governor's signature if the governor does not specifically veto it. In a few states, bills will not become law without a signature within a set amount of days. These cases are referred to as pocket vetoes, as the governor effectively vetoes the bill without taking specific action to do so. Every state has a provision by which the legislature may override the governor's veto, similar to Congress.[2]
In 17 states, citizens may veto decisions made by the state legislature via a veto referendum. This process typically requires citizens of the state to collect enough signatures to force a ballot question regarding the law they propose vetoing. The law is held in abeyance (temporarily suspended) pending the outcome of the statewide vote.
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