This is аn original proceeding in mandamus in which the petitioner, the Honorable Chauncey H. Browning, Jr., Attorney General of West Virginia, seeks a writ to require the defendant, the Honorable C. A. Blankenship, Clerk of the House of Delegates of West Virginia, to publish the true Budget Act passed by the Legislature of West Virginia at its regular session, 1970, to include the amounts as appropriated by the Legislature without the reductions made by the Governor, and to furnish the petitioner true copies of the Act as so published.
Upon the petition and its exhibits filed March 3, 1970, this Court, on March 9, 1970, issued a rule returnable May 5, 1970. Because of prior cases this proceeding was not сalled for hearing until May 6, 1970, at which time the Honorable Arch A. Moore, Jr., Governor of West Virginia, hereinafter sometimes referred to as Governor or intervenor, filed his motion for leave to petition this Court for permission to intervene as a party defendant in this proceeding which *255 motion this Court sustained and permitted the movant, the Governor of West Virginia as intervenor, to be made a party defendant in this proceeding. At the same time, as intervenor, he filed his demurrer and answer to the petition of the Attorney General. To the answer of the intervenor the petitioner filed his demurer, and the defendant, C. A. Blankenship, Clerk of the House оf Delegates, hereinafter sometimes referred to as Clerk, filed his demurrer to the petition of the Attorney General and his replication to the answer of the in-tervenor and an exhibit with the replication.
Upon the foregoing pleadings and the typewritten briefs and the oral arguments of the attorneys in behalf of the respective parties this proceeding was submitted for decision on May 6, 1970.
The material facts are not disputed and the questions presented for decision are questions of law.
On February 14, 1970, the Legislature of West Virginia, during its 1970 regular session, passed a Budget Bill, known as Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1, effective frоm its passage, which established the budget of the State of West Virginia for the next ensuing fiscal year 1970-1971, and thereafter adjourned sine die. The Budget Bill was presented to the Honorable Arch A. Moore, Jr., Governor of West Virginia, for his consideration, and on February 18, 1970, within five days after the adjournment of the Legislature, the Governor signed the Budget Bill with the notation “approved with reductions” and filed it in the office of the Secretary of State. When the Budget Bill was filed with the Secretary of State, a letter signed by the Governor and a list of reduced account numbers were attached. The letter stated, in part, “I herewith submit, in addition to the notations which I havе made on the face of the bill and the reductions therein shown, a typewritten list of the account numbers so reduced.”
From the copy of the Budget Bill filed as Exhibit 1 with the petition of the Attorney General, it appears that the Governor reduced the item under Account 240, Attorney *256 General, “Other Personal Services” from $583,360.00 to $280,626.00 or a reduction of $302,734.00, by striking the amount of $583,360.00 by drawing an inked line through it and inserting twice for that item the amount of $280,626.00 and adding to each, in pen and ink, the initials “A.A.M.,Jr.,” and reduced the total of the appropriation for that account from $665,860.00 to $363,126.00 by striking the amount of $665,860.00 by drawing an inked line through it and inserting instead the amount of $363,126.00 and adding, in pen and ink, the initials “A.A.M.Jr.” Thеre is no other notation on the Budget Bill with respect to either of the foregoing items and the only indication of the reduction in each is that the amount of the original appropriation for each item is eliminated and the reduced amounts are substituted for the original amounts in the manner indicated.
It also appears from the exhibit that the Governor reduced or eliminated, in the same manner, items in Accounts Numbers 120, Governor’s Office; 150, Auditor’s Office; 170, Sinking Fund Commission; 250, Secretary of State; 291, Educational Broadcasting Authority; 293, State Board of Education — Vocational Division; 296, Department of Education-Aid for Exceptional Children; 299, Commission on Higher Education; 410, Department of Mental Health; 440, State Board of Education — Rehabilitation Division; 495, West Virginia Racing Commission; 513, Department of Agriculture — Division of Rural Resources; 514, Department of Agriculture — Meat Inspection; 565, Department of Natural Resources; and claim of Hibbard, O’Connor & Weeks, Inc., against the State Department of Education.
The intervenor contends that as the Clerk has published or will publish the Budget Bill in both its original form as enacted by the Legislature and in its final form as amended by the Governor, the object of this mandamus proceeding has been accomplished and this proceeding is now moot. The Clerk denies that he has published or will publish the Budget Bill in both forms but states instead that he has рrepared an informational galley of the Budget Bill solely for the purpose of informing persons, who inquire about the *257 status of the Budget Bill, that a proceeding in mandamus with respect to that matter is pending in this Court and that his action in that respect did not constitute the performance of the act sought to be required of him in this proceeding. There is no merit in the foregoing contention of the intervenor.
It is clear from the pleadings in this proceeding that the Clerk has not made any official publication of the Budget Bill in either its original or amended form. Since he has made no such official publication he may be compellеd, at the instance of the Attorney General, to publish the Budget Act in its official form as provided by Section 13, Article 1, Chapter 4, Code, 1931, when the official form of the Act is determined in this proceeding.
Capito v. Topping,
Under the above quoted statute and the decisions of this Court, it is the mandatory duty of the Clerk of the House of Delegates of the West Virginia Legislature, at the instance of the Attorney General of West Virginia, to prepare and have published the authentic and official Budget Bill enacted by the Legislature and to furnish him requested copies of such bill and mandamus lies to compel the Clerk to perform his nondiscrеtionary duty of publishing such act and furnishing the requested copies. See
State ex rel. Smith v. Kelly,
The controlling question in this case is whether the manner in which the Governor, in the exercise of his veto power under the Constitution of this State, complied with the mandatory requirement of the Constitution in modifying the Budget Bill by reducing or eliminating various items in it.
The petitioner contends that the action of the Governor in reducing and eliminating the items in question was void and of no force and effect because he failed to comply with the constitutional requirement that he file his objections with the Budget Bill in the office of the Secretary of State within five days afer the adjournment of the Lеgislature. On the contrary, the Governor contends that he has complied with the requirement of the Constitution and that the Budget Act *259 as amended by him is in all respects a valid Act of the Legislature.
Article VI, Section 51, of the Constitution of West Virginia which was ratified on November 5, 1918, known as the Budget Amendment and which was in effect from its ratification, was completely rewritten and superseded by the amendment of that Article and Section of the Constitution, known as the Modern Budget Amendment, sometimes herein referred to as the Amendment, which was ratified and became effective November 5, 1968. Among the changes established by the Amendment was the transfer of the budget making power from the Board of Public Works to the Governor and the incorporation of certain express provisions empowering the Governor upon the conditions stated to veto every budget bill or supplementary appropriation bill enacted by the Legislature. Those provisions are:
“Every budget bill or supplementary appropriation bill passed by a majority of the members elected to each house of the legislature shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. The governor may veto the bill, or he may disapprove or reduce items or parts of items contained therein. If he approves he shall sign it and thereupon it shall become a law. The bill, items or parts thereof, disapproved or reduced by the governor, shall be returned with his objections to each house of the legislature.
“Each house .shall enter the objections at large upon its journal and proceed to reconsider. If, after reconsideration, two thirds of the members elected to each house agree to pass the bill, or such items or parts thereof, as were disapproved or reduced, the bills, items or parts thereof, approved by two thirds of such members, shall become law, notwithstanding the objections of the governor. In all such cases, the vote of each house shall be determined by yeas and nays to be entered on the journal.
“A bill, item or part thereof, which is not returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after the bill has been presented to him shall become a law in like manner ás if he had signed the bill, *260 unless the legislature, by adjournment, prevents such return, in which case it shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state, within five days after such adjournment, and shall become a law; or it shall be so filed within such five days with the objections of the governor, in which case it shall become law to the extent not disapproved by the governor.”
The above quoted provisions of the Amendment confer upon the Governor a qualified, not an absolute, power of veto and prescribe the manner in which he shall exercise his power of veto, and as these constitutional provisions are clear and unambiguous and are mandatory in character they must be literally complied with and the failure of the Governor to exercise that power in the manner prescribed will render his veto invalid and of no force and effect. See,
State v. Heston,
Decision of the narrow question here involved depends upon the meaning of thе word “objections” as used in the Amendment where it four times appears. It is clear that the words “disapproved” and “objections,” as used in the Amendment, are not synonymous but are separate and distinct in meaning and effect. The action of the Governor in striking the items in question indicates that he disapproved of the items in their original form but mere disapproval does not *261 constitute an objection and does not satisfy the requirement of the Amendment that the Bill be filed with his objections.
These definitions of the word objection appear in Black’s Law Dictionary, Fourth Edition, at page 1222: “Act of objecting; that which is, or may be, presented in оpposition; an adverse reason or argument; a reason for objecting or opposing; a feeling of disapproval.” These definitions of the word objection are contained in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary at page 1555: “something that is or may be presented in opposition: adverse reason or argument: reason for objecting or opposing.” From the foregoing it is obvious that the proper or pertinent definition or meaning of the word objection, as used in the Amendment, contemplates the statement of a reason or reasons for an act of disapproval. This is clearly indicated by the procedure required to be followed by the Governor in the exercise of his veto power before the adjournment of the session of the Legislature at which the bill is passed. In that situation the Amendment provides that the bill, items or parts thereof, disapproved or reduced by the Governor, shall be returned with his objections to each House of the Legislature; that each House shall enter the objections at large upon its journal and proceed to reconsider; that if, after reconsideration, two thirds of the members elected to each House agree to pass the bill, or such items or parts thereоf, as were disapproved or reduced, the bill, items or parts thereof, approved by two thirds of such members, shall become law notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. This provision requires the objections, which of course must be in writing, to be entered upon the journal of each House and indicates clearly that the objections shall state a reason or reasons, otherwise no purpose could be served or accomplished by their entry upon the journal for their reconsideration by each House. The meaning and effect of the words “with the objections” of the Governor in connection with the prоcedure for the exercise of the power of veto by the Governor of a bill, item or part thereof, which is filed in the office of the Secretary of State within five days after adjournment, and the words “with his objections” to be filed with the bill when returned
*262
to each House of the Legislature are manifestly identical in substance in each instance. Though the objections stating reasons for the disapproval can not be considered by the Legislature after its adjournment they become a matter of record for consideration by the Legislature in the future or by the people of the State for such action, if any, as they may dеtermine to take at some future date in connection with the action of the Governor. All these considerations indicate clearly that the word “objections” as used four times in the Amendment, means a statement of the reason or reasons for the disapproval and that the mere act of disapproval without the filing of the required' objections does not satisfy the express requirement for the effective exercise of the power of veto by the Governor. In order to disapprove the items which the Governor undertook to reduce or eliminate from the Budget Bill it was necessary for him to file his objections with thе bill. See
May v. Topping,
As the Governor filed no objections with the Budget Bill when he filed it in the office of the Secretary of State, his action in undertaking to reduce or eliminate the items in question is null and void and of no force or effect. See
State v. Heston,
Determination of the meaning and effect of the word “objections” in the Amendment, as indicated, is in accord with the procedure prescribed in Article VII, Section 14, of the Constitution, which relates to, and governs the exercise of the veto power of the Governor with respect to Acts of the Legislature other than budget and supplementary appropriation acts.
Article VII, Section 14, of the Constitution of this State is couched in this language: “Every bill passed by the legislature shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he approve, he shall sign it, and thereupon it shall become a law; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which house shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, a majority of the members elected to that house, agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by a majority of the members elected to that house, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the оbjections of the governor. But in all such cases, the vote of each house shall be determined by yeas and nays to be entered on the journal. Any bill which shall not be returned by the governor within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature shall, by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall be filed with his objections in the office of the secretary of state, within five days after such adjournment, or become a law.”
*265
Though the exercise of the veto power by the Governor of particular items in the Budget Bill is, of course, not governed by the provisions of Article VII, Section 14, of the Constitution of this State, the language of the two constitutional provisions is identical with respect to the requirement that the bill in each instance be filed with the “objections” in the office of the Secretary of State within five days after the adjournment of the Legislature.' In considering the exercise of the veto power of the Governor of a nonappropriation bill under Article VII, Section 14, of the Constitution of this State, this Court, in
Capito v.
Topping,
“In view of the terms, as well as the nature of this clause, it must be held to be mandatory, not merely directory. Constitutional provisions are organic. They are adopted with the highest degree of solemnity. They are intended to remain unalterable except by the great body of the people, and are incapable of alterаtion without great trouble and expense. * * * . So they necessarily stand on a much higher plane than mere statutes, and the courts, as a rule, do not feel warranted in upholding deviations from them in respect to the manner and time of the performance of acts, prescribed or required by them. * * * . Tested by its terms, the clause under consideration may be said to be in mandatory form, though form is not always conclusive. The passage of the act makes it law, subject to a contingency, the executive veto. If the Governor desires to veto a bill, after the adjournment of the legislature, it must be filed, with his objection, ‘in the office of the Sеcretary of State within five days after such adjournment, or become a law.’ It is alternative and emphatic, *266 saying if a certain thing is not done, another shall happen. Unlike many other provisions, it does not stop with the prescription of the affirmative act, leaving the consequence of failure to inference. It declares the sequence. We are aware of no decision authorizing the view that a constitutional clause, dealing with matters so high and vital in character as the executive power of veto, and the making of laws, and having form and' terms so emphatic, is merely directory.” The language just quoted applies with peculiar force to the express requirement of the Amendment as to the exercise of the veto power of the Governor in connection with the Budget Bill or any of its items or parts.
This Court has also held that the provision of the Constitution which requires presentation of a bill to the Governor before it shall become a law is mandatory and that in the absence of such presentation the enactment of the statute is a nullity.
Charleston National Bank v.
Fox,
Article VII, Section 14, of the Constitution with respect to the requirement that the Governor, in the exercise of his power of veto, shall file his objections with the bill which he seeks to veto in the оffice of the Secretary of State, was considered by this Court in the recent case of
State ex rel. Kidd v.
Bailey,
The brief filed by the Governor in this proceeding states that “In the alternative, the Governor’s actions in amending the Budget Bill were in lawful and substantial, though not literal, compliance with the provisions of the Modern Budget Amendment,” and in support of that contention cites and relies upon the decisions of this Court in
State ex rel. Smith v. Kelly,
Those cases are not controlling in the decision of this case. That the exercise of the veto power is readily distinguishable from the requirement of the publication of a proposed amendment to the Constitution involved in the Kelly, Townsend and O’Brien cases, is made clear by this statement in the opinion of this Court in the Capito case: “We are aware of no decision authorizing the view that a constitutional clause, dealing with matters so high and vital in character as the executive power of veto, and the making of laws, and having form and terms so emphatic, is merely directory.” The express provision of the Modern Budget Amendment here involved, which is plain and unambiguous and is mandatory in character, is not satisfied by substantial compliance but instead must be accorded full and literal compliance.
Under the applicable prоvisions of the Modern Budget Amendment, which are plain and unambiguous and mandatory in character, and upon the authority of the cited decisions of this Court, this Court holds that:
(1) Mandamus is the proper remedy, at the instance of the Attorney General, to compel the Clerk of the House of Delegates, as keeper of the rolls, to publish the official Budget Act and to furnish the requested copies when such act has been officially determined in this proceeding;
(2) In the exercise of the power of the Governor to veto a budget bill or any of its items or parts after the adjournment of the Legislature, the provision of the Modern Budget Amеndment that the bill shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, within five days after such adjournment with the objections of the Governor, must be literally complied with and the failure to file his objections with the bill in the office of the Secretary of State within the five day period renders his veto and the reduction or elimination of any item or part of the bill invalid and of no force and effect;
*269 (3) The word “objections,” as used in the Modern Budget Amendment, means a statement of an adverse reason in opposition to a budget bill, or its items or parts, and the action of the Governor in the elimination of the amount of an item in the bill by striking the amount by drawing a line through the figures or the substitution of a reduced amount and the addition of the initials of the Governor does not constitute the objections required by the Amendment; and
(4) The failure of the Governor to file his objections with the Budget Bill when it was filed in the office of the Secretary of State within five days after the adjournment of the Legislature renders the exercise of the veto power of the Governor ineffective and because of the ineffective exercise of that power, the Budget Bill as passed by the Legislature, and not as amended by the Governor, is the valid official Budget Act for the fiscal year 1970-1971.
The writ of mandamus as prayed for in the petition of the Attorney General is awarded.
Writ awarded.