Lowering His Profile, Gov. Christie Quietly Pocket-Vetoes 44 Measures
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Political observers in New Jersey are scratching their heads over Governor Chris Christie's move to kill almost four dozen bills by use of the "pocket veto" -- in effect letting them die with no action from his office.
At the end of any legislative session, there is always a mountain of bills to decide on, and Christie signed more than a hundred into law.
But 44 others -- on issues ranging from regulating drone aircraft by law enforcement to requiring sprinklers in newly built homes -- were tossed out by the governor, most with no explanation.
"We worked hard at the end of the session to try to advance good legislation that had bipartisan support, and most of those bills did," said state senate president Steve Sweeney. "It was quite a surprise to see so many vetoed."
A spokesman for the governor says the pocket-veto option was used because there was "inadequate time to properly vet all legislation."
Sweeney's hope is that Christie might be overwhelmed with all that's been going on around him these days, and that this is not a sign of a change in his overall approach to dealing with legislation.
