ID: When will Governor Otter Sign Permitless Carry?

On Friday, 18 March, the Idaho permitless carry bill, S 1389 was passed by the Idaho House of representatives, 54 – 15.  Once a bill has passed both houses, there is a procedure to be followed for it to go to the Governor for consideration.  On Monday, 21 March, S 1389, S 1389 was enrolled and officially sent to Governor Butch Otter of Idaho.  From idaho.gov:  

03/21 Returned From House Passed; referred to enrolling             Reported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of Speake
Received from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to Senate
Reported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to Governor

Monday is the official day that S 1389 was sent to Governor Otter.  He has five days, not counting Sunday, to sign or veto permitless carry. From idaho.gov:

After receiving a bill passed by both the House and Senate, the Governor may:

1. Approve the bill by signing it within five days after its receipt (except Sundays), or within ten days after the Legislature adjourns at the end of the session (“sine die”).
2. Allow the bill to become law without his approval by not signing it within the five days allowed.
3. Disapprove (veto) the bill within five days and return it to the house of origin giving his reason for disapproval, or within ten days after the Legislature adjourns “sine die.”

A bill may become law over the Governor’s veto if both houses vote to override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote of the members present in each house.
When a bill is approved by the Governor or becomes law without his approval or over his veto, it is transmitted to the Secretary of State for assignment of a chapter number in the Idaho Session Laws. Most bills become law on July 1, except in the case of a bill containing an emergency clause or other specific date of enactment. The final step is the addition of new laws to the Idaho Code, which contains all Idaho law.

Sin die (the day the legislature adjourns) is estimated as March 25th for 2016.
If the legislature adjourns before Governor Otter has the bill for five days, he has an additional five days after that, not counting Sundays, to sign or veto the bill.  If he does neither, the bill becomes law.

If the legistature adjourns after 25 March, and the bill was not signed by the Governor, the bill will become law on 25 March.  If the legislature adjourns before 25 March, and the bill is not signed or vetoed, it will become law on 31 March.

I expect that Governor Otter will sign permitless carry.  He has a good track record as a Second Amendment supporter.  The bill is a small, symbolic, incremental, step to restore this freedom to Idaho; and it is supported by the vast majority of law officers in the state.

When Governor Otter signs S 1389, Idaho will be the ninth state to have permitless or “Constitutional” carry.  Seven states have restored permitless carry since 2002.  The eight states with permitless carry are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Vermont.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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