BILLS PRESENTED TO THE GOVERNOR

The diagram showing the bill-passing procedures gives the Constitutional time limits imposed on the Governor. These limits are computed from the time a bill is "presented" to the Governor, not from the date of passage in the Legislature. Customarily, the Legislature presents the bills only when the Governor calls for them, thus permitting the Governor's staff to deal with a few bills at a time after the closing days of a spring session during which large numbers of bills are passed. However, this can be another area for political maneuvering--a hostile legislative majority may decide to apply pressure by having bills presented as soon as passed; or a Governor may delay calling for a bill on which he would prefer not to take a public stand until the end of the legislative session, after which the bill will not become law if he does not act. Thus, despite the fact that New Jersey's Legislature operates under specified procedures that govern its activities, many of its practices depend less on these written rules than on tradition and the day-to-day realities of party politics. This is also true--though often to a lesser degree--of the executive branch of the State's government.