Text: HJR00007 Text: HJR00009 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1 4 Constitution of the State of Iowa, is repealed and the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 -- INITIATIVE. Section 1. The people
1 7 reserve to themselves the power to initiate laws and
1 8 amendments to the Constitution and adopt such laws and
1 9 amendments independently of the legislative authority. With
1 10 the exception of laws and amendments to the Constitution by
1 11 initiative petition, the Legislative authority of this State
1 12 is vested in a General Assembly which shall consist of a
1 13 Senate and a House of Representatives.
1 14 An initiative petition proposing a law or an amendment to
1 15 the Constitution shall be filed with the Secretary of State
1 16 not less than twelve months preceding the date of the election
1 17 at which the proposed law or amendment is to be voted upon.
1 18 Each initiative petition proposing a law shall be signed by
1 19 registered voters equal in number to five percent of the votes
1 20 cast for the office of Governor at the last general election
1 21 in which that office was on the ballot. Each initiative
1 22 petition proposing an amendment to the Constitution shall be
1 23 signed by registered voters equal in number to ten percent of
1 24 the votes cast for the office of Governor at the last general
1 25 election in which that office was on the ballot.
1 26 Each initiative petition shall contain the declaration of
1 27 each petitioner that the petitioner is a registered voter of
1 28 the State, the petitioner's address, and the date on which the
1 29 petitioner signed the petition. Each sheet containing
1 30 petitioners' signatures shall be attached to a full and
1 31 correct copy of the title and text of the proposed law or
1 32 amendment to be initiated, and every sheet of the petition
1 33 containing signatures shall be verified by the affidavit of
1 34 the person who circulated the sheet, setting forth that each
1 35 of the names on the sheet was signed in the presence of the
2 1 affiant and that in the belief of the affiant each signer was
2 2 a registered voter of the State.
2 3 Each law or amendment proposed by initiative petition shall
2 4 comply with the requirements of article III, section 29, or
2 5 article X, section 2, respectively, and shall not exceed five
2 6 thousand words in length. An analysis of the legal and fiscal
2 7 impact of the law or amendment shall be prepared and made
2 8 available to members of each house of the General Assembly and
2 9 to the public prior to the day of the election.
2 10 A law or amendment initiated by petition may be withdrawn
2 11 if a petition requesting withdrawal is filed with the
2 12 Secretary of State not later than one hundred twenty days
2 13 before the next general election. The petition requesting
2 14 withdrawal must contain the signatures of no less than two-
2 15 thirds of the signers of the initiative petition filed with
2 16 the Secretary of State. Upon the filing of a valid withdrawal
2 17 petition, the Secretary of State shall take no further action
2 18 on the initiative petition.
2 19 All elections on laws or amendments to the Constitution
2 20 initiated by the people shall be held at the regular biennial
2 21 general election. When an initiative petition is filed, the
2 22 Secretary of State shall cause to be printed on the official
2 23 ballot at the next regular biennial general election the title
2 24 of the law or amendment, together with the words "Yes" and
2 25 "No" in such manner that the voters may express at the polls
2 26 their approval or rejection of the law or amendment. The text
2 27 of all laws or amendments to be submitted shall be published
2 28 by the Secretary of State as required by law.
2 29 No more than five laws or amendments to the Constitution
2 30 initiated by petition may be placed on the ballot at any
2 31 general election. The first five petitions to be filed with
2 32 the Secretary of State and to meet the qualifications of this
2 33 section shall be placed on the ballot at the general election.
2 34 A simple majority of the votes cast for an initiated law or
2 35 amendment is necessary to approve the law or amendment. An
3 1 initiated law or amendment approved by the people is effective
3 2 July 1 following its approval.
3 3 The veto power of the Governor in article III shall not
3 4 extend to laws proposed by initiative petition and approved by
3 5 the electorate.
3 6 If two or more conflicting laws or amendments are placed on
3 7 the same ballot, the Secretary of State shall include on the
3 8 ballot a statement notifying the voters of the conflicting
3 9 laws or amendments.
3 10 If two or more conflicting laws or two or more conflicting
3 11 amendments to the Constitution are approved by the people at
3 12 the same election, the law or amendment receiving the greatest
3 13 number of affirmative votes shall prevail.
3 14 The Secretary of State, in the presence of the Governor and
3 15 the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, shall canvass the
3 16 votes within thirty days after the election, and upon
3 17 completion of the canvass shall issue a proclamation, giving
3 18 the entire number of votes cast for and against each initiated
3 19 law or amendment to the Constitution and declaring those laws
3 20 or amendments which were approved.
3 21 A law or amendment to the Constitution proposed by
3 22 initiative petition and rejected at election shall not be
3 23 placed on the ballot more than once in a three-year period.
3 24 The General Assembly may provide by law for procedures to
3 25 implement this section. Such procedures shall in no way
3 26 restrict or impair the powers reserved to the people by this
3 27 section. The General Assembly shall provide a penalty for any
3 28 willful violation of any of the provisions of this section.
3 29 This section shall not be construed to deprive the General
3 30 Assembly of the right to enact any law. This section shall
3 31 not be construed to deprive the General Assembly or a
3 32 constitutional convention of the right to propose any
3 33 constitutional amendment as provided in article X, or to
3 34 deprive the people of the right to approve and ratify such a
3 35 proposed amendment as provided in article X.
4 1 The style of an act enacted by the General Assembly shall
4 2 be: "Be It Enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
4 3 Iowa." The style of an act submitted to the voters by an
4 4 initiative petition shall be: "Be It Enacted by the People of
4 5 the State of Iowa."
4 6 Sec. 2. The foregoing proposed amendment to the
4 7 Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred to the General
4 8 Assembly to be chosen at the next general election for members
4 9 of the General Assembly and the Secretary of State is directed
4 10 to cause the proposed amendment to be published for three
4 11 consecutive months before the date of that election as
4 12 provided by law.
4 13 EXPLANATION
4 14 This Joint Resolution proposes an amendment to the
4 15 Constitution of the State of Iowa granting the people the
4 16 power to initiate laws or amendments to the Constitution of
4 17 the State of Iowa by petition and approve the laws or
4 18 amendments at the polls. Initiative petitions must contain a
4 19 specified number of signatures of registered voters. A
4 20 procedure for withdrawal of a petition is included.
4 21 Initiative petitions must be filed with the secretary of
4 22 state not less than 12 months before the election at which it
4 23 will be voted on.
4 24 The resolution also provides that any law or amendment to
4 25 the Constitution proposed by initiative petition shall not
4 26 exceed 5,000 words in length and that a legal and fiscal
4 27 analysis shall be prepared for members of the general
4 28 assembly. No more than five initiated laws or amendments may
4 29 be placed on the ballot at one time.
4 30 The resolution provides that the general assembly may enact
4 31 laws to implement this amendment to the Constitution.
4 32 An initiated law or amendment approved by the people is
4 33 effective July 1 following its approval. A law or amendment
4 34 proposed by initiative petition and rejected at election shall
4 35 not be placed on the ballot more than once in a three-year
5 1 period.
5 2 The resolution, if adopted, would be referred to the next
5 3 general assembly for consideration.
5 4 LSB 1220HH 77
5 5 sc/sc/14
Text: HJR00007 Text: HJR00009 Text: HJR00000 - HJR00099 Text: HJR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
Iowa General Assembly
Search: House Bills and Amendments (77th General Assembly)
© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Last update: Tue Feb 18 03:40:25 CST 1997
URL: /DOCS/GA/77GA/Legislation/HJR/00000/HJR00008/970210.html
jhf