The Illinois Constitution provides the Governor with four
possible veto alternatives, below is a brief description of each:
Total Veto: The Governor can veto an entire bill by
returning it with his objections to the chamber in which it originated. The
General Assembly can override this veto by a vote of three-fifths of the
members elected to each chamber.
Item Veto: The Governor can veto any item of appropriations
in a bill by returning it to the chamber in which it originated. The General
Assembly can override this veto by a vote of three-fifths of the members
elected to each chamber.
Reduction Veto: The Governor can reduce any item of
appropriations in a bill by returning it to the chamber in which it originated.
An item reduced in amount can be
restored to its original amount by the General Assembly by a vote of a majority
of the members elected to each chamber. The portions of a bill not vetoed
become law, and if a reduced item is not restored, it will become law in the
reduced amount. The Governor may use both his line item and reduction veto power
on different parts of the same bill.
Amendatory Veto: The Governor can return a bill with his
specific recommendations for change to the chamber of origin. The specific
recommendations may be accepted by the General Assembly by a vote of a majority
of the members elected to each chamber, if an early effective date is not
desired, or with a three-fifths vote of the members elected to each chamber, if
the bill is to become effective prior to the next June 1.
The bill is presented to the Governor in its amended form,
and if he certifies that the amendment conforms to his specific
recommendations, the bill becomes law. If the Governor does not certify the
bill, the bill is returned to the General Assembly as a vetoed bill and procedures
described under total veto prevail. The General Assembly has the second option
of overriding the Governor’s amendatory veto by a three-fifths vote of the
members elected to each chamber. If the General Assembly fails to either accept
or override an amendatory veto, the bill dies.
Second Chamber
The second chamber’s action on a veto is limited by the
action taken in the first chamber. If, for example the House votes to override
an amendatory veto of a House bill, the Senate cannot vote to accept the
amendatory veto but can only vote to override. Similarly, if the first chamber
sustains a governor’s total veto, the second chamber does not have the
opportunity to vote on the issue.