Fix the bill after it’s passed?
“I understand the governor’s concerns — I actually agree with him — but we just didn’t have the votes to get it done,” said Scutari, who has been trying to legalize marijuana in New Jersey for a decade. “But there comes a time when we need to get this moving. There are many things we’re going to have to go back and fix later.”
Staff from the governor’s office are scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Friday with members of the Black Legislative Caucus to see if they can resolve their differences with Murphy regarding penalties for minors, according to a person involved in negotiations.
- Several vastly different outcomes are riding on that meeting. They include:
- Lawmakers immediately pass a cleanup bill that satisfies Murphy, which is unlikely.
- Murphy issues a conditional veto with proposed changes, which would force the Legislature’s hand.
Murphy signs the current bills, as they were passed, with an assurance from the Legislature that a cleanup bill will follow in the near future, a move Scutari supports.
If Murphy were to issue a conditional veto of the two bills, that would put the ball back in the Legislature’s court. Lawmakers could accept the changes with a majority vote, and ensure the governor’s signature. That’s a nonstarter, one legislative source said and Senate President Steve Sweeney has unequivocally stated that the Senate will not entertain a conditional veto. That means the bills would die, and the legislative process would be pushed back to square one.