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Gov. David A. Paterson of New York on Saturday vetoed legislation intended to curtail natural gas development using the technique called hydraulic fracturing until a closer review of its effects can be undertaken. Instead, the governor issued an executive order instituting a moratorium that extends until July 1, 2011 — beyond the date specified in the legislation — and that more narrowly defines the types of drilling to be restricted. “This legislation, which was well intentioned, would have a serious impact on our state if signed into law,” Mr. Paterson said in a prepared statement. “Enacting this legislation would put...

Abortion bills vetoed by the governor last week became law today when the Senate successfully voted in favor of overriding two abortion bills. On Monday, the House voted to override the bills. House Bill 2780 requires a health care provider to perform an ultrasound before an abortion could be perform and HB 2656 would make it illegal to sue a doctor claiming "wrongful birth" because the doctor failed to convince the mother to abort a child. Read more: http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-abortion-bills-become-law/article/3457167?custom_click=lead_story_title#ixzz0mKGleHeb

FAIRBANKS -- A week after the Alaska Legislature adjourned, lawmakers are waiting to find out if Gov. Sarah Palin will break out her veto pen. Palin will have 20 days, not counting Sundays and holidays, to decide whether to use her veto power on spending and policy measures. As of Saturday, only 10 of the 61 bills and 29 resolutions approved by the Legislature had been sent to the governor.

WASHINGTON - Democrats and human rights advocates criticized President Bush's veto Saturday of a bill that would have banned the CIA from using simulated drowning and other coercive interrogation methods to gain information from suspected terrorists. Bush said such tactics have helped foil terrorist plots. His critics likened some methods to torture and said they sullied America's reputation around the world. "This president had the chance to end the torture debate for good, yet he chose instead to leave the door open to use torture in the future," said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a member of the Senate...

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks. "The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. "So today I vetoed it," Bush said. The bill provides guidelines for intelligence activities for the year and includes the interrogation requirement. It passed the House in December and the Senate last month. "This is...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Addressing a Republican fund-raising dinner at the Washington Convention Center last Wednesday night, President Bush declared: "If the Democrats want to test us, that's why they give the president the veto. I'm looking forward to vetoing excessive spending, and I'm looking forward to having the United States Congress support my veto." That was more than blather for a political pep rally. Bush plans to veto the Homeland Security appropriations bill nearing final passage, followed by vetoes of eight more money bills sent him by the Democratic-controlled Congress.

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2007 – President Bush today vetoed an emergency war-funding bill that includes timelines for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, calling on members of Congress to put politics aside and give the troops the funding they need to accomplish their mission. “Here in Washington, we have our differences on the way forward in Iraq, and we will debate them openly,” Bush said in a televised address to the nation after vetoing the bill. “But whatever our differences, surely we can agree that our troops are worthy of this funding, and that we have a responsibility to...

Presidential Vetoes, 1789–2006 President Coincident Congresses Regular vetoes Pocket vetoes Total vetoes Vetoes overridden Washington 1st–4th 2 — 2 — Adams 5th–6th — — — — Jefferson 7th–10th — — — — Madison 11th–14th 5 2 7 — Monroe 15th–18th 1 — 1 — J. Q. Adams 19th–20th — — — — Jackson 21st–24th 5 7 12 — Van Buren 25th–26th — 1 1 — W. H. Harrison 27th — — — — Tyler 27th–28th 6 4 10 1 Polk 29th–30th 2 1 3 — Taylor 31st — — — — Fillmore 31st–32nd — — — — Pierce 33rd–34th 9...

Given that many moderate and conservative Californians see Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto pen as all that protects them from the most far-left Legislature north of Caracas, it may be a surprise to learn that so far the governor's sign-to-veto ratio on bills sent his way is a stunning 19 to 1. As of yesterday afternoon, Schwarzenegger had given his official blessings to 379 measures while only rejecting 20. The governor seems to think California doesn't have enough laws already. We disagree. Here is our second list of bills now on Schwarzenegger's desk whose next stop should be the trash can, not...

SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have barred textbooks from using language that would be discriminatory to gays, saying the state's education laws already prevent discrimination. The bill's author, state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, called the veto "inexplicable." Kuehl's bill initially would have required California's social science textbooks to include the historical contributions of homosexuals, but the state Assembly amended it at her request in an effort to avoid a veto from the Republican governor. The final version of SB 1437 would have prohibited any negative portrayal of homosexuals in textbooks and other instructional material, expanding current...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger got off to a fast start in his annual September Veto Parade yesterday by saying he would reject state Sen. Sheila Kuehl's nonsensical, poorly drafted bill mandating that California adopt socialized medicine. It is a sad commentary on the Legislature that Kuehl's bill made it this far. Perhaps the governor next can tackle measures that are, respectively, anti-consumer, anti-common sense and pro-corruption. AB 2592, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would allow car-rental companies to omit the cost of airport fees when advertising rental rates. How does Leno – who sees himself as a classic liberal do-gooder...

UNITED NATIONS - The United States cast the first U.N. Security Council veto in nearly two years Thursday, blocking an Arab-backed resolution that would have demanded Israel halt its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The draft, sponsored by Qatar, accused Israel of a "disproportionate use of force" that endangered Palestinian civilians, and it demanded Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Called a non-productive year by some pundits, the truth is that California’s Legislature still passed 961 bills in 2005. Of these, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed 726 and vetoed 232. This year’s session ended with both good and bad news. The best news, of course, was that Gov. Schwarzenegger held firmly to his promise to veto the same-sex marriage bill (AB 849) passed by California’s liberal Legislature. However, the bad news included his signature on other pro-homosexual bills such as AB 1400, which added marital status and sexual orientation to the list of persons that can sue businesses...

OVER THE TOP by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher First of Two Parts October 31, 2005 Once again, Democrat Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin (right) has gone over the top in his decision to veto - for the third time - legislation requiring photo ID for voting at the polls. Despite addressing past flaws in earlier versions of similar bills submitted by the Republican-controlled legislature that deservedly died a quick death over failure to have sufficient safeguards, the fact that Doyle was quick at the trigger to veto this latest version only serves to reinforce in the minds of many...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin's governor vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed health care workers to opt out of a half-dozen procedures, including withdrawing a person's feeding tube and using embryonic stem cells, on religious or moral grounds. The "conscience clause" also would have protected medical workers against punishment from their bosses or state regulators if they refused to refer people elsewhere to get the procedures. "Because it puts a doctor's political views ahead of the best interests of patients, this legislation ought to be called the 'unconscionable clause,'" Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. "It is...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Friday that would have given special education students a reprieve from the state's high-stakes exit exam. The bill would have implemented a legal settlement between the California Department of Education and the Oakland-based Disability Rights Advocates, which filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of special education students. The bill sent to the governor by the Legislature differed from the settlement, however, and drew objections from the state's school superintendent. Schwarzenegger also vetoed a bill that would have eased the exit exam rules by allowing high school students to graduate without passing...

Conn. Gov. Vetoes School Junk Food Bill 2 hours, 30 minutes ago HARTFORD, Conn. - The governor vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have banned most soft drinks and junk food from Connecticut schools. Soft drink companies had lobbied fiercely against the bill, and schools expressed concerns about losing revenue from sales. Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the effort to impose state standards on school districts for nutrition and physical education "undermines the control and responsibility of parents with school-aged children." The bill would have banned sodas and snacks deemed unhealthy by the state Department of Education from school...

PHOENIX (AP) -- No sign of second thoughts by Governor Napolitano on controversial vetoes of Republican bills passed by the Legislature. Republican leaders say Napolitano broke a deal on a budget package by vetoeing a school-choice bill that was part of the package. They're also critical of her veto of a school funding bill that they say wasn't part of the package but which Napolitano says was. Senate President Ken Bennett said the only honorable thing for Napolitano to have done if she felt the Republicans broke the deal was to veto the entire budget package, not just the parts...

Governor “NO” Breaks Veto Record Governor Napolitano is breaking records, and it’s not just for spending increases. Napolitano has broken the record for “most uses of the veto in a legislative session.” Vetoing 36 bills including an entire budget, Governor Napolitano eclipsed the former recorded of 28 vetoes in one session. Just like national Democrats, Governor Napolitano is obstructing the business of Arizona’s government. To read about it log online to http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0426guns-veto26box.html

SACRAMENTO (AP) - For more than a decade, a trade group representing the nation's biggest drug companies was content to sit on the sidelines of California's legislative races. But after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed four bills in September that would have made it easier for Californians to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Alliance quickly emerged as one of California's major players and one of the governor's key supporters. The PhRMA group jumped into state legislative races late in the 2004 campaign - only two weeks after Schwarzenegger's Sept. 29 veto of the...