While in most states the time limit for gubernatorial review is counted from
date of the bill’s final passage, in Wisconsin the 6-day period begins with
official receipt of the bill by the governor’s office. This allows the governor to
consider the proposed legislation in a more orderly fashion. The legislature
informally supplies the governor’s office with copies of the enrolled bill for
review by the governor and the governor’s staff. Because the bill has not been
transmitted officially, the 6-day limit does not start to run. When the governor’s
office is ready to take action, it informs the chief clerk’s office which delivers
the official copy, and the 6-day period begins. (Under Assembly Rule 23 (4),
the speaker has the authority to send an enrolled bill to the governor, but this
rarely happens.) Starting with the 1977 Legislature, the chief clerks have been
given deadline dates in the session schedule by which all bills then enrolled
must be delivered to the governor’s office. The 1993-94 session schedule sets 4
such dates for delivery of remaining bills to the governor.