Governor Override Constitutional Amendment

By Gordon HopkinsOne of the petitions circulating for the 2022 election is a proposed constitutional amendment that would give the governor the authority to override rules, laws and regulations created by political subdivisions, such as cities and counties.Nebraska is one of 24 states that allow citizens to initiate legislation through the petition process.The measure would add a new section to Article IV of the state constitution. The proposed language states, “The Governor shall have authority, through the issuing of one or more executive orders, to overrule rules, laws, and regulations of any and all political subdivisions or independent governmental agencies within the state of Nebraska.”The amendment does offer a way to overrule the governor, “The overruling executive orders issued by the governor may be overridden by a three/fifths supermajority of the Legislature.”If approved by the voters, the amendment would become effective January 11, 2023.The sponsor of this bill is Michael Connely, one of six Republican candidates vying to replace Pete Ricketts as governor. Ricketts has served two terms as Governor of Nebraska and cannot seek re-election due to term limits.Of the 13 petitions currently circulating, Michael Connely is sponsor or co-sponsor of six.FJN reached out to Connely to ask why he felt such an amendment was necessary. Connely responded, “In our Nebraska Constitution, mayors of cities and other leaders of various political subdivisions have immense power. This often goes unchecked. Consider the California import mayor of Lincoln who is commonly called the little dictator. She is despised by thousands, but nobody can reign in her dictatorial actions. In traveling all over the state of Nebraska a month ago, things seem normal. In Lincoln, masks were required and many business owners suffered repercussions from the mayor because of their refusal to FORCE customers to mask up.”Connely also said, “This Governor Override Constitutional Amendment allows the governor to make an executive order that overrides any mini dictator at the county or local level. Some say this gives too much power to the governor. That is incorrect. As a checks and balances safety valve, 60 percent of the legislature can nullify (overrule) a Governor’s Executive order.”Local ResponseFJN also asked local leaders their opinions of the proposed amendment. Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown said, “In my opinion, there should not be any government agencies with absolute power, checks and balances are there for a reason. Saying that, I do not believe that this is an overreach by the governor since it can be overridden by the legislature. I would think if something like this happens too often, that it would be reflected at the polls during re-election or even a recall. All of that being said, I would hope that the governor would establish a line of communication with that mayor and attempt to work through the issue prior to any executive orders.”Jefferson County Commissioners expressed reservations about the proposal.Commissioner Gale Pohlmann said at a recent meeting, “The concern that you get when we start giving the executive branch the right to just write their name and like, for example, TransCanada just goes down.”TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada, was constructing an oil pipeline in the United States, including through Nebraska. President Joe Biden issued an executive order revoking the permit for the project despite popular support.Pohlmann said, “That’s the concern. So if you have a governor that has these rights to just stop anything and everything, maybe that’s not so good.”While the proposed amendment does give the legislature the ability to override the governor, some are concerned that it still takes the final decision-making out of the hands of local leaders and gives it to people who don’t live here.Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock said, “Having served in office now a fair number of years, I really have come to believe the best government is the most local government. You know, we are right where the rubber hits the road. You see our citizens every day that vote for us or don’t want to vote for us. We have to be accountable and responsive to them. And the further you go up the chain, you know, whether it’s state or federal, it’s a longer distance between the citizen and those elected officials. So I really am a big proponent, I think, the best government is the most local government.Commissioner Michael Dux said, “We had a governor, the previous one, Governor (David) Heineman, I mean, he was patting himself on the back for reducing a lot of state spending. And he did, and that was all at the cost at the county level.”Schoenrock added, “Unfunded mandates.”

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