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years ago, it was discovered that 35% of all Senate bills
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which passed the house of origin arrived in the House in the
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last seven (7) days of session (including Saturday and
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Sunday). The handling of 132 bills in so short a period
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doesn't give much time for serious consideration. Similarly,
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159 House bills (33. 4% of all) had the same amount of time
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in the Senate.
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In that same session, the second house killed 16. 4% of
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all bills which came across the hall, and the governor vetoed
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12. 6% of all bills reaching him. An examination of the
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governor's veto messages in the same session discloses that
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46. 7% of his 92 vetoes were on grounds that the bills were
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unnecessary, unconstitutional, inconsistent with another
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passed at the same session, formerly repealed, vague, care-
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Less, duplicating, ambiguous, etc., rather than on grounds
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of policy. If second house action were effective, the bulk
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of these nonpolicy vetoes would be unnecessary.
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Immeasurable, but nevertheless important, is the appli-
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cation of the good old American policy of "passing the buck. "
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That practice, combined with the frequently expressed "This
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bill was thoroughly considered in the other house. Let's
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