New York State Library Archive Digital Collection of Bill, and Veto JacketsWhen a bill passes both houses of the New York State Legislature, the Governor's Counsel's Office collects memoranda and letters discussing the pros and cons of the bill. Materials collected may include a sponsor's memo justifying the lawmaker's introduction of the bill, counsels' statements, State agencies' official positions, study groups' comments, as well as the opinions of bar associations, lobbyists, corporations and private individuals. These are submitted to the Governor along with the proposed legislation for approval, veto, or recall. Recalls are bills sent back to the Legislature to correct a defect, at the request of either the Governor or Legislature, but then are not returned to the Governor's Office for approval or disapproval. Depending on the Governor's decision, the materials collected become parts of different "jacket" collections. Bill jackets are available electronically from 1995 - 2019. Ther eis no requirement that a bill jacket was prepared for every piece of legislation, nor a standard for the types of materials contained therein.
