New York State Counsel to the Governor Legislative Bill and Veto Jackets

1905-1978: By approved or vetoed, then chronological by year, then numeric by chapter number (if approved) or introductory number (through 1958) or veto number (beginning 1959) (if vetoed). 1905 vetoes have Senate and Assembly introductory numbers interfiled; 1926-1958 vetoes are arranged by house, then by introductory number.

1979 to present: Chronological by year, then by approved or vetoed, then numeric by chapter number or veto number.

2004: Chapters are numerical. Vetoes numbered 25-219 are line item vetoes and are filed with their respective chapters. Vetoes numbered 220-319 follow the chapters.

2006-2007: Line item vetoes and vetoes overridden are filed with chapters.

"Jackets" or files documenting the governor's legislative decision-making process were compiled by the Counsel to the Governor and include records relating to each bill passed by the legislature and sent to the governor for approval. The jackets are comprised mainly of memoranda and correspondence to the governor from state agencies, legislators, legislative committees, commissions, legal associations, lobbyists, private firms, and citizens, expressing approval of or opposition to particular legislation.

Three types of jackets comprise this series. Bill jackets contain records relating to bills signed into law by the governor. Veto jackets contain records relating to bills vetoed by the governor. Recall jackets contain records relating to bills returned by the governor to the legislature at either's request to correct a technical defect and never sent back to the governor.

Although the content and format of the jackets changed over time, each may include: printed version(s) of the bill; tally of legislators' votes on the bill in each house, providing name, Senate district number (for Senate tally), party, aye or nay, and total ayes and nays in the house (beginning in 1973); checklist of actions taken on the bill, such as engrossing, amendments, date approved, vetoed, or recalled, and compared by (initials or name) (less frequent by mid-1920s, little used by 1950s); certificate of approval of bill by Senate and Assembly; governor's veto memorandum or (beginning about 1960, and rarely) approval memorandum stating reasons for veto or approval; if recalled, certification by the governor that the bill was returned for amendment; folios or folio covers for vetoes providing house, introductory number, by whom introduced, print number, dates passed by each house, date vetoed, and veto number (1926-1974); memorandum of Counsel to the Governor summarizing the bill, stating any legal or constitutional objections to it, and sometimes stating reasons for a law or a clause in a law, who supports it and objects to it, what the law would do, and advice as to whether the governor should approve or veto the bill; checklist of state agencies, municipal officials and groups, and legal groups from whom recommendations were solicited or received; and correspondence, memoranda, and telegrams from interested persons, businesses, organizations, state agencies, and local government officials expressing reasons for their approval or disapproval of the bill, discussing the purpose of the bill and its possible impact on the state or on state agencies, or requesting a hearing on the bill; beginning in 1960, state agency recommendations were made in a uniform format providing recommendation (approval or disapproval), statutes involved, effective date, purpose of the bill, summary of its provisions, prior legislative history of the bill and similar proposals, known position of others respecting the bill, budget implications, arguments in support of the bill, arguments in opposition to the bill, and reasons for recommendation.

Content of the jackets is very uneven; some contain all these types of documents, while others may contain only the printed bill or a few of the other documents. A few jackets are missing. Pre-1900 jackets are few and fragmentary.

Bill jackets, 1905, 1921-1974, and veto and recall jackets, 1905, 1926-1958, available on microform at the New York State Library (Albany), New York Public Library (New York), and State University of New York at Buffalo Law Library.

Legislative Bill and Veto Jackets from 1995-2021 are available in State Archives Digital Collections.

Bill and veto jackets, 1983-1998, available on microfiche at the New York State Archives.

Bill and veto jackets, 1995-present, available in New York State Archives Digital Collections.

A4438Series A4438, Governor's bill files, contains related records created by the Counsel to the Governor

13123Series 13123, Memoranda on pending legislation, contains related records created by the Division of the Budget

19614Series 19614, Legislative program bill files, contains related records created by the Department of Taxation and Finance.

Container lists for accretions not included in this finding aid are available at the repository.

Lists for microfilm and microfiche are available at the repository.

Records through 1974 were accessioned from the New York State Library as old collection numbers 444 (accession numbers -437 and -438: veto jackets) and 445 (accession numbers -337, -338, and -339: bill jackets).

Records from 1905 and 1921-1958 were microfilmed by the New York State Library (492 reels of 35 mm film). Master film was sent to the State Records Center (TL#3001-74).

Records from 1959-1974 were filmed and jacketed by the New York State Library (17,593 microfiche). Master film was sent to the State Records Center (TL#97-7, containers 1-2).

Records from 1975-1982 were filmed by the State Archives (138 reels of 16 mm microfilm). Master film was sent to the State Records Center (TL# 1200-83).

Records from 1983-1998 were fiched by the State Archives (29,660 microfiche). Master film was transferred to the State Records Center (TL# 97-7).

Records after 1994 are electronically scanned by the State Archives. Paper copies are fiched by an outside vendor. Master copies are transferred to the State Records Center as use copies become available.

12590-19A: This accretion most likely became estrayed from a set of bill and veto jackets previously transferred by the State Library. They were discovered during a re-shelving project in 2018. National Bank notices to depositors and records of Assemblyman D. Mallory Stephens, found with the bill and veto jackets, were removed.

Restricted: Pre-1920 records are closed to research because of extreme fragility.

Restricted: Pre-1940 records may be too fragile to reproduce.