Schuyler Cook, librarian at the the Cleveland Marshall College of Law Library, unearthed an OAG opinion from 1945 which discusses the time period in which a governor may veto a bill. Download 1945_Ohio_Atty.Gen.Ops.No. 496.pdf. The OAG opinion holds as follows: The Ohio Constitution provides that the governor must file his veto with the General Assembly within 10 days of presentment to him, Sundays excluded. See Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 16. The day of presentment to the governor does not count, while the tenth day is included. Per the Ohio Constitution, an exception occurs when the adjournment of the General Assembly prevents the return of the bill on or before the 10th day. "Adjournment" means a final not a temporary adjournment.
In the situation presented to the attorney general in 1945, there was a temporary adjournment of the General Assembly. However, the OAG opinion went on to analyze the situation as if a temporary adjournment provided an exception. The Ohio Constitution provides that if an adjournment occurs, the governor must file objections with the Secretary of State's office within 10 days after adjournment. The Ohio Constitution does not say that the 10 day period to file with the Secretary of State excludes Sundays. So, in the case before the attorney general, the result would have been the same whether the adjournment was temporary or permanent. In fact, the case would have been the same whether Sundays were excluded from the 10 day period in which to file with the Secretary of State.
1945 Ohio Atty.Gen.Ops. No. 496 appears to strengthen the position of republican legislators in their battle to overturn Governor Strickland's veto of Am. Sub. SB 117. Applying this OAG opinion to the Strickland veto case, State ex rel. The Ohio General Assembly et al. v. Jennifer Brunner, Secretary of State of Ohio , Case No. 2007-0209, the count would start on December 27,2006, the day after the General Assembly adjourned. The time to file objections with the Secretary of State would expire on January 5, 2007, because Sundays are not included. Even if Sundays are excluded, the time to file objections would have expired on Saturday, Jan. 6. See our prior posts: Republican Legislators Sue to Overturn Strickland Veto and Incoming Governor Vetoes CSPA Limits .
It could be argued that the comments concerning adjournment of the legislature is only dicta in the 1945 OAG opinion, because that situation involved a temporary adjournment only. Moreover, the Ohio Supreme Court is not bound by an OAG opinion in deciding the Strickland veto case. See State ex rel. Van Dyke v. Pub. Empl. Retirement Bd. (2003), 2003-Ohio-4123, 99 Ohio St.3d 43.