Governor Deadlines & Effective Dates

After the legislative branch passes a change to existing law the executive branch becomes involved. During session this is largely ceremonial as new bills become law without any action on the Governor, where the only executive response is to veto the bill in part or in whole.

Bills passed near the end of legislative session may allow more time for executive action, where inaction still often results in the bill becoming law, though there are exceptions as noted below.

After being set on the road to becoming law a new set of deadlines appear for when the changes of the bill take effect. This is often specified in the bill text itself, though there are fallback rules and dates outlined below.

As such, here is a broad overview of the deadlines for how quickly a governor must act, the default result of inactivity and when a bill becomes effective unless vetoed. This is a generalized view and some specific details such as excluding Sundays or Holidays, and emergency clauses are omitted for brevity and clarity.

State During Session Default Action After Session Default Action Effective Date
Alabama 6 days Law 10 days Pocket Veto In bill text
Alaska 15 days Law 20 days Law 90 days after enacted
Arizona 5 days Law 20 days Law 90 days after enacted
Arkansas 5 days Law 20 days Law 90 days after adjournment
California 12 days Law 30 days Law January 1 after enacted
Colorado 10 days Law 30 days Law In bill text
Connecticut 5 days Law 15 days Law In bill text
Delaware 10 days Law 30 days Pocket Veto Immediately, unless otherwise specified
Florida 7 days Law 15 days Law 60 days after adjournment, unless otherwise specified
Georgia 6 days Law 40 days Law July 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Hawaii 10 days Law 45 days Law In bill text
Idaho 5 days Law 10 days Law July 1 after enacted
Illinois 60 days Law 60 days Law In bill text, or January 1 / June 1 following enactment before / after May 31 respectively
Indiana 7 days Law 7 days Law In bill text
Iowa 3 days Law 30 days Pocket Veto July 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Kansas 10 days Law 10 days Law July 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Kentucky 10 days Law 10 days Law 90 days after adjournment, unless otherwise specified
Louisiana 10 days Law 20 days Law August 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Maine 10 days Law 3 days Law 90 days after adjournment, unless otherwise specified
Maryland 6 days Law 30 days Law In bill text
Massachusetts 10 days Law 10 days Pocket Veto In bill text, otherwise 90 days after enacted
Michigan 14 days Law 14 days Pocket Veto In bill text, otherwise 90 days after enacted
Minnesota 3 days Law 14 days Pocket Veto In bill text, otherwise August 1 after enacted
Mississippi 5 days Law 15 days Law In bill text, otherwise 60 days after enacted
Missouri 15 days Law 45 days Law In bill text, otherwise August 28 after enacted
Montana 10 days Law 10 days Law In bill text, otherwise October 1 after enacted
Nebraska 5 days Law 5 days Law In bill text, otherwise 90 days after adjournment
Nevada 5 days Law 10 days Law In bill text, otherwise October 1 after enacted
New Hampshire 5 days Law 10 days Law In bill text
New Jersey 45 days Law 7 days Pocket Veto In bill text, otherwise July 4 after enacted
New Mexico 3 days Law 20 days Pocket Veto In bill text, otherwise 90 days after adjournment
New York 10 days Law 30 days Pocket Veto In bill text
North Carolina 10 days Law 40 days Law In bill text, otherwise 60 days after adjournment
North Dakota 3 days Law 15 days Law In bill text, otherwise August 1 after enacted
Ohio 10 days Law 10 days Law In bill text, otherwise 91 days after enrollment
Oklahoma 5 days Law 15 days Pocket Veto In bill text, otherwise 90 days after adjournment
Oregon 5 days Law 15 days Pocket Veto January 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Pennsylvania 10 days Law 10 days Law In bill text
Rhode Island 6 days Law 10 days Law In bill text
South Carolina 5 days Law 5 days Law In bill text, otherwise 20 days after enacted
South Dakota 5 days Law 15 days Law July 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Tennessee 10 days Law 10 days Law 40 days after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Texas 10 days Law 20 days Law 90 days after adjournment
Utah 20 days Law 20 days Law 60 days after adjournment, unless otherwise specified
Vermont 5 days Law 3 days Pocket Veto July 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Virginia 7 days Law 30 days Law July 1 after enacted, unless otherwise specified
Washington 5 days Law 20 days Law 90 days after adjournment, unless otherwise specified
West Virginia 5 days Law 15 days Law 90 days after enrollment
Wisconsin 6 days Law 6 days Pocket Veto 1 day after publication, unless otherwise specified
Wyoming 3 days Law 15 days Law In bill text
US Congress 10 days Law 10 days Pocket Veto In bill text

 

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