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.