governor was given more control over the process in which he previously had none. Another amendment removed the ban on consecutive terms, allowing Indiana's first consecutive term governors in over one hundred years. A third amendment granted the power to prepare a budget to a State Budgetary Agency, which was run by officials appointed by the governor. The significant authority this gave the governor over the budget was the "greatest transfer of power" to the governor yet, according to historian and professor of political science Linda Gugin. Despite gaining considerable power during the mid-twentieth-century, Indiana's governor remains fairly weak compared to his counterparts in other states. He has no line-item veto authority, and the pocket veto was ruled unconstitutional. If a governor does not sign or reject a bill, it becomes law automatically. This led to a fistfight during the term of Claude Matthews, who was locked out of the House chambers to prevent him from returning a bill in time. The legislature can override a veto with a simple majority, as opposed to a supermajority that is required federally and in most other states. The legislature still exercises final control over the hiring of state employees, but given the large size of the government and the short legislative sessions, they are unable to make any considerable impact other than their continued advocacy for an expanded merit system. The cabinet is still almost entirely independent of the governor, and he has control over only half of the government's agencies, such as the Indiana State Police and the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Other large agencies, such as the Department of Administration, are under the control of the cabinet. Veto usage During the state's early history, vetoes were seldom employed by governors primarily because they were seen as only symbolic since the General Assembly could override them with only a simple majority. Governor James Whitcomb was the first to make significant use of the power and vetoed a record of fifteen bills during a single legislative session. Roger Branigin, who presided over a hostile legislature, made the most total vetoes of any governor, returning a total of one hundred bills to the assembly. Despite the fact that vetoes are easily overridden, only around ten percent of vetoed bills are overridden. During the 1970s, for example, 117 bills were vetoed, but only eleven were overridden. Observers and historians attribute this to the