BILL ANALYSIS
S.J.R. 34
By: Nelson
State Affairs
4-25-95
Committee Report (Amended)
BACKGROUND
Initiative and referendum are terms often used interchangeably but
they have significantly different meanings. The initiative enables
citizens to bypass the legislature by placing proposed statutes
and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot. The
referendum provides for a popular vote on laws that have been
enacted by the legislature.
PURPOSE
As proposed, S.J.R. 34 requires the submission to the voters of a
constitutional amendment to reserve to the people the powers of
initiative and referendum.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Article III, Texas Constitution, by amending
Section 1 and adding Sections 1A and 1B, as follows:
Sec. 1. Requires the legislative power of Texas to be vested
in a Senate and House of Representatives, subject to Sections
1A and 1B of this article.
Sec. 1A. (a) Provides that the people reserve to themselves
the power, known as the initiative, to propose statutory and
constitutional measures by petition for submission to the
electorate and to have those measures enacted.
(b) Requires a proposed statutory or constitutional measure
and a good faith filing fee of $100 to be submitted to the
attorney general. Requires the attorney general to advise
the petitioner as to the proper form and language and
authorizes the attorney general to redraft the text of the
measure as necessary or desirable to achieve its purposes.
Requires the attorney general to return the measure to the
petitioner accompanied by written reasons for a
determination of unconstitutionality if any provision of a
proposed statutory measure would be invalid under this
constitution. Prohibits a measure determined to be
unconstitutional from being forwarded to other state
officers.
(c) Requires the attorney general to forward the measure to
the comptroller of public accounts for the preparation of a
fiscal note no later than the 30th day after the date the
measure is submitted, if the attorney general determines
that the proposed measure authorizes or requires the
expenditure or diversion of any state funds. Requires the
attorney general to forward the measure by the deadline to
the secretary of state, in all other cases.
(d) Requires the comptroller to prepare and sign the fiscal
note, attach it to the measure, and forward the measure to
the secretary of state, no later than the 15th day after the
date of receipt of a proposed measure from the attorney
general. Requires the comptroller to outline the fiscal
implications and probable cost of the measure each year for
the first five years after its effective date and provide a
statement as to whether there will be costs involved
thereafter.
(e) Requires the secretary of state to prepare and issue to
the petitioner approved copies of an initiative petition
proposing the measure, in the number requested, by a certain
date. Authorizes the secretary to charge for each copy a
fee to cover reproduction costs. Requires the secretary to
prescribe standards of form and design for a petition.
Requires each part of a petition to include the full text of
the proposed measure.
(f) Requires an initiative petition to be signed by a
number of registered voters equal to at least eight percent
of the total number of votes received by all candidates for
governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election
in each of at least half of the congressional districts as
well as statewide.
(g) Sets forth requirements for a petition to be certified
as valid.
(h) Requires the secretary of state to deliver the
certified petition to the legislature on the date it
convenes in regular session.
(i) Provides that if a certified petition proposes a
statutory measure and an identical measure is enacted by the
legislature and not vetoed by the governor, the enacted
measure takes effect according to its terms. Requires the
secretary of the state to submit the measure to the voters
of the state at an election if the measure is not so enacted
and Subsection (j) of this section does not apply. Provides
that the statutory change proposed by the measure takes
effect according to its terms if the measure is approved.
(j) Requires the voters to vote on the measures if a
certified petition proposes a statutory measure and an
alternative measure is enacted by the legislature and is not
vetoed by the governor. Provides that if only one measure
is approved by a majority that measure becomes law.
Provides that if both measures are so approved, the one
receiving the most affirmative vetoes becomes law and the
other has no effect.
(k) Authorizes the legislature to amend or repeal a
statutory measure proposed by petition that becomes law
within five years after it takes effect only on the record
vote of four-fifths of the members elected to each house.
(l) Provides that if a certified petition proposes a
constitutional measure and Subsection (m) of this section
does not apply, an election is required to be held to vote
on the measure. Provides that if the measure is approved by
a majority of those voting on the question, the amendment
proposed by the measure becomes a part of the constitution.
(m) Provides that if a certified petition proposes a
constitutional measure and an alternative measure is
proposed by the legislature, an election is required to be
held to vote on each measure. Provides that if both
measures are approved, the one receiving the most
affirmative votes becomes part of the constitution and the
other has no effect.
(n) Requires the secretary of state to prepare the ballot
proposition for a measure proposed by initiative and an
alternative measure proposed by the legislature. Requires
the proposition to be descriptive but not argumentative or
prejudicial. Provides that provisions that apply to
publication of constitutional amendments apply to measures
proposed under this section.
(o) Requires no more than five measures proposed by
initiative to be submitted to the voters on a single ballot.
Requires the first five initiative measures with sufficient
signatures submitted to the secretary of state to be the
proposals which are submitted to the legislature under
Subsection (h) and to the voters under Subsection (i) or
(l). Requires the sufficiency of signatures to be
determined by the secretary. Provides that signatures on an
initiative petition that does not qualify for placement on
the ballot are no longer valid.
(p) Provides that this section is self-executing, but laws
may be enacted to facilitate its operation. Provides that
no law may be enacted to hamper, restrict, or impair the
exercise of the power of initiative.
Sec. 1B. (a) Provides that the people reserve the power of
referendum.
(b) Provides that the referendum power extends to any bill
enacted during a regular or special session of the
legislature and to each bill in its entirety.
(c) Requires a written request for a petition proposing the
repeal of a bill enacted by the legislature to be submitted
to the secretary of state in a form prescribed by the
secretary with a good faith filing fee of $100. Requires
the request to be filed not later than the 180th day after
the date of final adjournment of the session in which the
bill is enacted.
(d) Requires the secretary of state to prepare and issue
approved copies of a petition proposing repeal of the bill
no later than the 10th day after the date of receipt of the
request. Authorizes the secretary to charge for each copy
a reasonable fee to cover the cost of reproduction.
Requires the petition to include certain information.
(e) Requires a referendum petition to be filed with the
secretary of state, to be certified as valid, no later than
the 180th day after the date of issuance and to be signed by
a number of registered voters equal to at least eight
percent of the total number of votes received by all
candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial
general election in each of at least half of the
congressional districts as well as statewide.
(f) Requires the secretary of state to review the petition
to determine whether it is valid. Authorizes the secretary
to use any reasonable statistical sampling methods as the
basis for verification. Prohibits the sample from being
less than one percent of the total number of signatures
appearing on the petition. Requires the secretary to
certify it as valid and to submit the proposal to the voters
at an election. Sets forth the election date and required
language of the ballot.
(g) Makes conforming changes.
(h) Provides that if a referendum proposal is approved by
a majority of those voting on the question, the repeal is
effective immediately on official declaration of the result
of the election, whether or not the bill repealed took
effect before the date of the election.
(i) Makes conforming changes.
SECTION 2. Amends Article XVII, Texas Constitution, by adding
Section 1A, as follows:
Sec. 1A. Authorizes the constitution to be amended by the
initiative procedure authorized by Section 1A, Article III, of
this constitution in addition to the mode of amendment
provided by Section 1 of this article.
SECTION 3. Requires this proposed constitutional amendment to be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 1995.
Sets forth the required language for the ballot.