ENROLLMENT OF BILLS

The joint rules of 1846 made it necessary for all orders, resolutions, and votes which were presented to the Governor for approval to be previously enrolled, examined, and signed as in the case of bills. Practically the only difference in the present procedure is that memorials have been added to the list. In regard to the enrollment of bills the First General Assembly had this to say: "After a bill shall have passed both Houses, it shall be duly enrolled by the Secretary or Clerk of the House in which it originated, before it shall be presented to the Governor." When, however, the Constitution of 1857 went into operation and the office of enrolling clerks had been created the rule was modified making the enrolling clerk of the house in which the bill originated responsible for its enrollment. The secretary or chief clerk now simply certifies the fact of the bill's origin. The only change in the examination of enrolled bills has been that the standing committee of two from each house, appointed to compare enrolled with engrossed bills and correct the errors, now reports to both branches of the Assembly instead of to the house in which the bill originated.

SIGNING OF BILLS

From the days of the First General Assembly there has been a provision that all bills, after the examination and report of the enrollments committee, shall be signed first by the speaker of the House and then by the president of the Senate - the order of signing being determined by the joint standing rules. After a bill has been thus signed in each house it is ready for transmission to the Governor. Until 1896 bills were presented to the Governor by the committee on enrollments, but since

that year this function has been performed by a committee of the house in which the bill originated. During the period of the first Constitution it was required that each bill be endorsed with a certification as to its origin, signed by the secretary or clerk of the house in which the bill originated. After presentation to the Governor the committee has always reported the date of such presentation; and this information was entered upon the journals of both houses until 1858, after which time it has been recorded only in the journal of the house in which the bill originated.

In Iowa if the Governor approves of a bill he signs and dates it, and thereby it becomes a law. But if the Governor does not approve he must return the bill with his objections to the house in which it originated, where it is reconsidered. If both houses pass the bill a second time, by a yea and nay vote, it becomes a law without the Governor's signature. Under the first Constitution an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present in each house was necessary to pass a bill over the Governor's veto; but the Constitution of 1857 requires the approval of two-thirds of all the members of each house. A bill passed over the Governor's veto is signed by the presiding officer in each house. If the Governor does not return a bill within three days, Sunday excepted, it becomes a law just as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly by adjournment prevents the bill's return. Such bills are authenticated by the Secretary of State. In case the General Assembly adjourns before the Governor has had a bill three days the Constitution of 1857 provides that he must deposit it in the office of Secretary of State with his approval or objections within thirty days after the adjournment. When bills have become

laws they are filed in the office of Secretary of State where they are prepared for publication and distribution.163 (For a detailed discussion of legislative procedure see Mr. Patton's paper on Methods of Statute Law-making in Iowa in this volume.)

XI

THE GOVERNOR AS A FACTOR IN STATE

LEGISLATION

THE Organic Act of the Territory declared that the Governor should be a constituent factor in the legislative authority; but both of the State Constitutions specifically provided that the executive and legislative departments should be entirely separate, "and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any function appertaining to either of the others," except in express cases. While the doctrine of the separation of powers is thus clearly enunciated there are, nevertheless, numerous points of contact between the legislative and executive departments.

The General Assembly canvasses the vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and in cases of tie (of which there have been none thus far in Iowa) elects one of the candidates. The same body inaugurates the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and upon occasion it may impeach and try them. In the ratification of certain appointments, moreover, the Senate coöperates with the chief executive.

On the other hand, the Governor may convene and adjourn the Assembly on particular occasions; he may proclaim special elections to fill vacancies therein; he makes recommendations for legislation; and he may veto bills which the Assembly has passed. The Lieutenant Governor, for his part, presides over the Senate and in no small measure influences the character of legislation.

At every regular session of the General Assembly the Governor has communicated by message the condition of the State and recommended such action as he deemed expedient; and from time to time he has transmitted special messages to the General Assembly on particular subjects. Furthermore, at the time of his inauguration the Governor, in an address to the General Assembly, outlines the policies of the administration and emphasizes the problems which will demand the attention of the State government. That these messages and inaugural addresses of the Governor have exerted a marked influence in legislation may be illustrated by a few notable examples.

To meet the exigencies of the new Constitution, James W. Grimes recommended to the General Assembly of 1858 many changes in the statutes of the State, chief among which were the laws relative to taxation and banks. Accordingly the Seventh General Assembly enacted a new statute on revenue which inaugurated the period of administrative decentralization in taxation in Iowa. Moreover, it is significant that the first banks in Iowa with power to issue paper money were provided for in two banking acts of the same Assembly.164

When William Larrabee became Governor in 1886, after eighteen years of continuous service in the Iowa Senate, he was prepared to use his great influence in securing legislation regulating the railroads. Antedating by several years all of the progressive leaders, Mr. Larrabee, not only in his biennial messages but in his inaugural addresses as well, urged the abolition of free railroad passes to public officials, the establishment by statute of equitable passenger and freight rates, and the maintenance of a board of competent railroad