Text: HJR00011 Text: HJR00013 Text: HJR00000 - HJR00099 Text: HJR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of
1 2 the State of Iowa is proposed:
1 3 Article III, Legislative Department, Section 1,
1 4 Constitution of the State of Iowa, is repealed and the
1 5 following adopted in lieu thereof:
1 6 GENERAL ASSEMBLY &endash; INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM. Section 1.
1 7 The Legislative authority of this state is vested in a General
1 8 Assembly which shall consist of a Senate and a House of
1 9 Representatives. However, the people reserve the power to
1 10 propose laws and amendments to the Constitution by initiative
1 11 petition and to enact or reject such laws and amendments at
1 12 the polls, independently of the General Assembly, and they
1 13 also reserve the power to approve or reject at the polls any
1 14 act, or severable item, section, or part of any act, of the
1 15 General Assembly.
1 16 Initiative petitions shall be filed with the Secretary of
1 17 State not less than four months preceding the date of the
1 18 election at which the proposed measures are to be voted upon.
1 19 Each initiative petition, except a petition proposing an
1 20 amendment to the Constitution, shall be signed by qualified
1 21 electors equal in number to ten percent of the votes cast for
1 22 the office of Governor at the last general election in which
1 23 that office was on the ballot. Each initiative petition
1 24 proposing an amendment to the Constitution shall be signed by
1 25 qualified electors equal in number to fifteen percent of the
1 26 votes cast for the office of Governor at the last general
1 27 election in which that office was on the ballot.
1 28 Under the referendum power, the General Assembly or
1 29 qualified electors equal in number to five percent of the
1 30 votes cast for the office of Governor at the last general
1 31 election in which that office was on the ballot may order the
1 32 submission to the people at the polls of any act, or severable
1 33 item, section, or part of any act, enacted by the General
1 34 Assembly, except acts immediately necessary for the
1 35 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or for
2 1 the support and maintenance of the departments of the state
2 2 government and state institutions. However, in order for such
2 3 acts to be excepted from the referendum power, the acts shall
2 4 be approved by a majority of two-thirds of the members of each
2 5 house of the General Assembly, taken by roll call vote of yeas
2 6 and nays, and also approved by the Governor.
2 7 Referendum petitions shall be filed with the Secretary of
2 8 State not more than ninety days after the final adjournment of
2 9 the session of the General Assembly which shall have passed
2 10 the measure to which the referendum is applied. The filing of
2 11 a referendum petition against an act or any severable item,
2 12 section, or part of an act does not prevent the act from
2 13 becoming effective or suspend the operation of the act until
2 14 the question is decided by the voters at the polls. Each
2 15 referendum petition shall be signed by qualified electors
2 16 equal in number to five percent of the votes cast for the
2 17 office of Governor at the last general election in which that
2 18 office was on the ballot.
2 19 Each initiative or referendum petition shall contain the
2 20 declaration of each petitioner that the petitioner is a
2 21 qualified elector of the state, the petitioner's address, and
2 22 the date on which the petitioner signed the petition. Each
2 23 sheet containing petitioners' signatures shall be attached to
2 24 a full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed
2 25 measure to be initiated or referred to the people, and every
2 26 sheet of the petition containing signatures shall be verified
2 27 by the affidavit of the person who circulated the sheet or
2 28 petition, setting forth that each of the names on the sheet or
2 29 petition was signed in the presence of the affiant and that in
2 30 the belief of the affiant each signer was a qualified elector
2 31 of the state.
2 32 All elections on measures referred to or initiated by the
2 33 people shall be held at the regular biennial general election.
2 34 When an initiative or referendum petition or any measure
2 35 referred to the people by the General Assembly is filed, the
3 1 Secretary of State shall cause to be printed on the official
3 2 ballot at the next regular biennial general election the title
3 3 and number of the measure, together with the words "Yes" and
3 4 "No" in such manner that the electors may express at the polls
3 5 their approval or disapproval of the measure. The text of all
3 6 measures to be submitted shall be published as proposed
3 7 amendments to the Constitution are published.
3 8 A simple majority of the votes cast on an act or measure is
3 9 necessary to enact an initiated measure or reject a referred
3 10 act. An initiated measure approved or ratified by the people
3 11 is effective January first following its approval. An act
3 12 rejected is repealed immediately upon certification of the
3 13 election results by the Secretary of State.
3 14 The veto power of the Governor shall not extend to
3 15 initiative or referendum measures approved by a majority vote
3 16 of the qualified electors.
3 17 If two or more conflicting measures or amendments are
3 18 placed on the same ballot, the Secretary of State shall
3 19 include on the ballot a statement notifying the elector of the
3 20 conflicting measures or amendments.
3 21 If two or more conflicting measures or amendments to the
3 22 Constitution shall be approved by the people at the same
3 23 election, the measure or amendment receiving the greatest
3 24 number of affirmative votes shall prevail.
3 25 The Secretary of State, in the presence of the Governor and
3 26 the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, shall canvass the
3 27 votes for and against each proposed measure or amendment to
3 28 the Constitution within thirty days after the election, and
3 29 upon completion of the canvass shall issue a proclamation,
3 30 giving the entire number of votes cast for and against each
3 31 proposed measure or amendment to the Constitution, and
3 32 declaring those measures which were approved and those
3 33 amendments which were ratified.
3 34 The General Assembly may provide by law for procedures to
3 35 implement this section. The General Assembly shall provide a
4 1 penalty for any willful violation of any of the provisions of
4 2 this section.
4 3 This section shall not be construed to deprive the General
4 4 Assembly of the right to enact any measure.
4 5 The style of an act enacted by the General Assembly shall
4 6 be: "Be It Enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
4 7 Iowa". The style of an act submitted to the voters by an
4 8 initiative petition shall be: "Be It Enacted by the People of
4 9 the State of Iowa".
4 10 Sec. 2. The foregoing proposed amendment to the
4 11 Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred to the General
4 12 Assembly to be chosen at the next general election for members
4 13 of the General Assembly and the Secretary of State is directed
4 14 to cause the proposed amendment to be published for three
4 15 consecutive months before the date of that election as
4 16 provided by law.
4 17 EXPLANATION
4 18 This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the
4 19 Constitution of the State of Iowa granting the people the
4 20 power to initiate laws or amendments to the Constitution of
4 21 the State of Iowa by petition and to approve or reject the
4 22 measures at the polls (initiative). The resolution also
4 23 grants the general assembly and the people the power to refer
4 24 acts passed by the general assembly to a popular vote
4 25 (referendum). Both initiative and referendum petitions must
4 26 contain a specified number of signatures.
4 27 Initiative petitions must be filed with the secretary of
4 28 state not less than four months before the election at which
4 29 it will be voted on and referendum petitions must be filed not
4 30 more than 90 days after the General Assembly which passed the
4 31 measure adjourns.
4 32 The amendment provides that the power of referendum does
4 33 not extend to acts immediately necessary for the public
4 34 welfare or for support of state departments or institutions if
4 35 the act is approved by two-thirds of the members of each house
5 1 of the general assembly.
5 2 A measure or amendment approved by the people is effective
5 3 January 1 following its approval. An act rejected is repealed
5 4 effective immediately.
5 5 The resolution, if adopted, would be referred to the next
5 6 General Assembly for consideration.
5 7 LSB 2214HH 76
5 8 sc/cf/24
Text: HJR00011 Text: HJR00013 Text: HJR00000 - HJR00099 Text: HJR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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