language would indicate, the 1867 Con-
vention apparently intended that for a
bill to become law it must be presented
to the governor and, while the legislature
is still in session, either signed or left un-
signed for six days. One reason for this
provision was to compel the legislature to
pass laws throughout the session rather
than saving all important legislation until
the end.8
Until 1880, governors did not attempt
to sign bills into law after the legislature
had adjourned. At that time several bills
were presented to and signed by the gov-
ernor after adjournment.9 Thereafter it
became a general practice. The validity
of this action was first tested in the Lank-
ford case and upheld by a split court.
Since then post-adjournment action has
been consistently held valid.10
An important question remains unre-
solved, however. Since Article II, Section
17 was not intended to permit post-ad-
journment action by the governor, no
time limit is specifically stated within
which he must sign a bill into law after
adjournment. In the Lankford case, the
majority of the court said by way of dic-
tum that the governor had to sign the bill
into law within six days after its present-
ment to effectively make the bill become
law after the legislature had adjourned.11
However, the recent Richards Furniture
case specifically left this question open.12
This analysis reveals several flaws in
s Debates of the Maryland Constitutional
Convention of 1867, at 188 (P. Perleman
comp. 1923).
9 Lankford v. Somerset Co., 73 Md. 105,
127 (1890).
10 See Richards Furniture Corp. v. Bd.
of County Comm'rs, 233 Md. 249, 260-62
(1963) ; and Robey v. Broersma, 181 Md. 325,
341 (1942).
11 Lankford v. Somerset Co., 73 Md. 114
(1890).
12 Richards Furniture Corp. v. Bd. of
County Comm'rs, 233 Md. 262 (1963).
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Article II, Section 17. First, the new
constitution should make clear that the
governor can sign bills into law after the
legislature has adjourned. Second, it is
submitted that the constitution should
fix some reasonable amount of time after
adjournment within which the governor
must either sign or veto a bill.
THE GOVERNOR'S "POCKET VETO"
Ostensibly Article II, Section 17 nar-
rowly restricts the governor's power to
prevent a bill from becoming law by de-
clining to sign it, since if he does not
sign it within six days from presentment
it becomes law without his signature un-
less the legislature adjourns in the in-
terim. However, in actual practice the
governor can effectively prevent most
bills from becoming law through calcu-
lated inaction and, more importantly,
can foreclose or at least postpone possibly
being overridden by the General Assem-
bly.
"Presentment" has been defined by
the courts not as the mere delivery of a
bill to the governor, but rather as a for-
mal act by virtue of which the great
seal is affixed and the bill is ceremoniously
handed over to the governor by either
the secretary of the Senate or the chief
clerk of the House.13 The Maryland Code
provides that a bill after passage shall "as
soon therafter as practicable ... be
. . . presented to the governor for his
approval."14 (Emphasis added.) "Prac-
ticable" has been construed to mean
practicable for the proper consideration
by the governor, rather than practicable
for officials of the legislature.15
Under this view of presentment the
governor has the more-or-less unchecked
13 See Richards Furniture Corp. v. Bd. of
County Comm'rs, 233 Md. 261-62 (1963).
14 md. code ann. art. 31, § 45 (1957, repl.
vol. (1967).
15Robey v. Broersma, 181 Md. 341 (1942).
157
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