It remains to be seen if voters will cast ballots on the veto override amendment during the November 5th general elections.
Senate Joint Resolution #2 would give the Fono the authority to overturn the Governor’s veto of a bill, so that a bill which is vetoed by the Governor, can still become law if the House and Senate approves the bill again by a two thirds majority vote of each chamber.
At present, if a vetoed bill is passed a second time by both the House and Senate, it then goes to the Secretary of the Interior for a final decision.
The Senate approved the joint resolution in January and sent it to the House, where it remained in committee until last Friday when the House approved it. The Senate on Thursday received communication from the House that SCR -2 has been passed.
According to the constitution, amendments to the constitution may be proposed in either House of the Legislature, and if approved by three-fifths of all members of each House, voting separately, the Governor shall then be requested to submit such proposed amendment to the voters at the next general election.
On Thursday, Senator Togiola Tulafono informed the Senate that the constitution requires that a proposed constitutional amendment passed by the Fono, must be presented to the voters at the next general election. He said the proposed amendment would not be valid if it’s not voted on in the upcoming general election. Togiola urged that the Senate send an urgent communication to the Governor with the Senate Concurrent Resolution, and commented that if ballot forms have already been printed, they must be recalled and new ones printed with the veto override amendment.
He said the House has sat on the resolution all this time, and just acted on the measure a few days before the Fono closes.
Senator Malaepule Saite Moliga supported Togiola’s comments saying the House has not acted on several Senate bills. He said some voters have already cast ballots, and he wasn’t sure if the ballot forms can be recalled. He agreed that the Senate should send a communication to the Governor about the issue.
Senate President Pro Tem Magalei Logovii, who led Thursday’s session, said they will send the concurrent resolution to the Governor quickly. He lamented the late action by the House on the proposed amendment.
