Legal Definitions - overridden veto

An overridden veto occurs when a legislative body successfully passes a bill or resolution into law despite the objection of an executive official, such as a president, governor, or mayor.

When a legislative body (like Congress, a state legislature, or a city council) passes a bill, it is typically sent to an executive official for approval. If the executive disagrees with the bill, they can "veto" it, meaning they reject it and prevent it from becoming law. However, most legal systems allow the legislative body to challenge this veto. If the legislature can gather enough votes—usually a "supermajority" (often two-thirds) of its members—they can vote on the bill again. If it passes with this supermajority, the executive's veto is "overridden," and the bill becomes law without their signature or approval.

• Example 1: Federal Budget Dispute

  Imagine the U.S. Congress passes a comprehensive budget bill. The President believes the bill allocates too much funding to certain programs and not enough to others, so they issue a veto. However, many members of Congress, including some from the President's own party, strongly support the bill. After intense debate, both the House of Representatives and the Senate hold new votes. If two-thirds of the members present in both chambers vote in favor of the budget bill, the President's veto is overridden, and the budget bill becomes law despite the President's objections.

  This example illustrates an overridden veto because the legislative branch (Congress) successfully enacted a law (the budget bill) by achieving the necessary supermajority vote, thereby nullifying the executive branch's (the President's) attempt to block it.

• Example 2: State Environmental Protection

  A state legislature passes a bill designed to implement stricter environmental regulations on industrial waste. The Governor, concerned about the potential economic impact on businesses, vetoes the bill. Environmental advocacy groups and a strong coalition of lawmakers, however, believe the regulations are crucial for public health. They lobby intensely, and the state House and Senate both manage to secure the required two-thirds majority vote to pass the bill a second time. In this scenario, the Governor's veto is overridden, and the environmental protection bill becomes state law.

  Here, the state legislature demonstrated an overridden veto by passing the environmental bill over the Governor's rejection, showing that the legislative body can ultimately prevail over the executive's dissent with sufficient support.

• Example 3: Local Zoning Ordinance

  A city council passes an ordinance to rezone a specific area of the city from commercial to residential, aiming to reduce traffic and noise in a growing neighborhood. The Mayor, believing the rezoning will stifle economic development, vetoes the ordinance. However, the majority of the city council members remain committed to the change, citing community support and urban planning goals. If the city charter allows for a veto override with, for instance, a three-fourths vote of the council, and they achieve that threshold in a subsequent vote, the Mayor's veto is overridden, and the rezoning ordinance takes effect.

  This example shows an overridden veto at the local government level, where the city council, acting as the legislative body, overcame the Mayor's executive veto to implement a policy change through a supermajority vote.