Governor Chet Culver has about 90 bills to review over the next four weeks as he has to decide whether to accept or reject the bills state legislators endorsed.
Culver can use his item veto authority to reject sections of bills that outline state spending for the next budgeting year. But on the rest of the bills that do not include spending, Culver must either veto or sign those into law.
“There are any number of bills which I will take under consideration and in some cases use the whole 30 day period that we have,” Culver says.
Once the legislature adjourns for the year, governors in Iowa have a 30-day period to review and take action on the bills lawmakers passed. One of the last bills to clear the 2010 legislature changes the way permits are to be issued to Iowans who want to carry a concealed weapon. The bill is backed by the National Rifle Association. Culver isn’t ready to say whether he’ll approve it, or reject it.
“The focus obviously this week has been adjournment, getting a budget passed and really don’t have a lot of comments on bills that I haven’t signed yet other than to say that I will carefully consider every one of them,” Culver said Wednesday afternoon during a news conference in his office.
The 2010 legislative session ended mid-day Tuesday. About 24 hours later, Culver told reporters his greatest disappointment was that Democrats in the legislature weren’t able to push through a series of bills that were priorities for organized labor.
“The Culver-Judge administration will always support Iowa’s hard-working men and women,” Culver said. “…I’m disappointed that the legislature couldn’t find a way to pass legislation we know Iowans need like reasonable reimbursement, choice of doctor, collective bargaining reforms and prevailing wage.”
Last year House Democrats tried to pass a bill that would require a county’s “prevailing wage” be paid on construction projects financed with taxpayer dollars, but they fell one vote short. Democrats in the legislature didn’t bring up any of the four union-backed bills this year. Culver, a Democrat who plans to seek reelection this November, vetoed a bill in 2007 that would have expanded the topics that may be discussed during collective bargaining sessions, but Culver now expresses support for the concept.
