Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said Monday he will go to court to uphold his veto of the Government Accountability Act of 1999, which called on him to reorganize the executive branch.
The Senate overrode his veto earlier Monday. Turnbull immediately issued a statement announcing his intent to ask the judicial branch to uphold his authority.
"Whenever I veto a bill based on constitutional grounds and it is overridden, it means the third branch of government, whose duty is to interpret the law, must be brought in," the governor said.
Press secretary Rina McBrowne said Turnbull turned down the measure because he "was concerned by constitutional issues raised by the attorney general."
The chief executive was particularly concerned by a provision ordering the governor to reorganize the executive branch.
According to the attorney general, that direction by the Legislature violates the U.S. Constitution's provision for separation of powers, Turnbull said.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lorraine Berry, was passed Aug. 5. The governor vetoed it Aug. 17. Berry, in her weekly radio address, said she couldn't understand why this provision would have caused the governor to veto the bill, since the Legislature had ordered a similar reorganization during the Farrelly administration in 1986.
"On my part, I continue to believe that there was no real basis for vetoing this bill and the changes to the legislation he's proposing would have been readily accepted by the Senate," Berry said.
Turnbull said Attorney General Iver Stridiron was off-island at the time he announced his intention to take the matter to court, so he could not say how soon he would proceed with his court challenge.
Here's how the senators voted.
Ten senators voted to override the bill:
Sen. Gregory Bennerson
Sen. Lorraine Berry
Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole
Sen. Roosevelt David
Sen. V. Anne Golden
Sen. George Goodwin
Sen. David Jones
Sen. Norman JnBaptiste (changed from "not voting")
Sen. Allie -Allison Petrus
Sen. Vargrave Richards
Sen. Judy Gomez voted against the override. Sens. Adlah "Foncie"Donastorg and Alicia "Chucky" Hansen were absent and Sen. Adelbert M. "Bert" Bryan abstained.
