PRIOR PASSAGE - NONE PRINTER'S NO. 383
No. 347 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY BOSCOLA, FONTANA, PIPPY AND WAUGH, MARCH 12, 2007
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 12, 2007
A JOINT RESOLUTION 1 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth 2 of Pennsylvania, authorizing the use of the indirect 3 initiative and referendum as powers reserved to the people. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby resolves as follows: 6 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of 7 Pennsylvania is proposed in accordance with Article XI: 8 That Article III be amended by adding a section to read: 9 § 33. Powers reserved to the people. 10 (a) (1) The legislative power of this Commonwealth shall be 11 vested in the Senate and the House of Representatives, but the 12 people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and 13 amendments to this Constitution at the polls. 14 (2) The indirect initiative is the power of the electors to 15 propose statutes and amendments to this Constitution and to 16 cause the General Assembly to take a vote in each House on the 17 approved proposal in the current legislative session or, if the 18 proposal is approved at a general election, no later than the
1 next legislative session. 2 (3) An indirect initiative measure may be proposed by 3 presenting to the Secretary of the Commonwealth a petition that 4 sets forth the text of the proposed statute or amendment to this 5 Constitution and is certified by the Secretary of the 6 Commonwealth to have been signed by registered electors equal in 7 number to 5% of the votes for all candidates for Governor at the 8 last gubernatorial election in each of 45 counties in this 9 Commonwealth. 10 (4) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall only certify a 11 measure on which all signatures on petitions are obtained and 12 affixed to the petitions for the measure during the same regular 13 session of the General Assembly and which is submitted by 5 p.m. 14 on Friday after the second Thursday of February in the second 15 year of that session. 16 (5) An indirect initiative measure embracing more than one 17 subject may not be submitted to the electors or have any effect. 18 (6) No measure that relates to religion, religious practices 19 and institutions; the appointment, qualification, tenure, 20 removal, recall or compensation of judges; the reversal of a 21 judicial decision; the powers, creation or abolition of courts; 22 the making of a specific appropriation of money from the 23 treasury; and the naming of a private corporation to perform a 24 function or to have a power or duty shall be proposed by an 25 indirect initiative petition. 26 (7) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall submit the 27 measure at the next general, municipal, primary or special 28 statewide election held at least 75 days after it qualifies. 29 (8) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall then submit the 30 measure to the clerk of the Senate within ten Senate session 20070S0347B0383 - 2 -
1 days of its receipt and to the clerk of the House of 2 Representatives within ten House session days of its receipt. 3 (9) The measure shall be referred to the appropriate 4 committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and 5 the committees shall report out their respective measures for 6 consideration by the full Senate and the House of 7 Representatives, respectively. The General Assembly shall not 8 finally adjourn a legislative session without a vote being taken 9 by the Senate and the House of Representatives on an indirect 10 initiative measure that is properly before the General Assembly. 11 (b) (1) The legislative power of this Commonwealth shall be 12 vested in the Senate and the House of Representatives, but the 13 people reserve to themselves the power, at their own option, to 14 reject statutes or parts of statutes passed by the General 15 Assembly. 16 (2) The referendum is the power of the electors to reject 17 statutes or parts of statutes except urgency statutes or 18 statutes calling elections. 19 (3) A referendum measure may be proposed by presenting to 20 the Secretary of the Commonwealth, within 90 days after the 21 enactment date of the statute, a petition certified to have been 22 signed by registered electors equal in number to 5% of the votes 23 for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial 24 election in each of 45 counties in this Commonwealth asking that 25 the statute or part of it be submitted to the electors. 26 (4) If a petition is certified to have been signed by 27 registered electors equal to 10% of the votes for all candidates 28 for Governor at the last gubernatorial election in each of 45 29 counties in this Commonwealth, the effective date of the enacted 30 legislation is suspended until the next election at which time 20070S0347B0383 - 3 -
1 the measure shall be submitted to the electors. 2 (5) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall submit the 3 measure at the next general, municipal, primary or special 4 statewide election held at least 75 days after it qualifies. 5 (c) (1) The General Assembly shall provide the manner in 6 which petitions shall be circulated, presented and certified and 7 require by law measures to insure full disclosure of 8 disbursements made and receipts obtained by parties who have an 9 interest in indirect initiative and referendum measures and who 10 have exceeded a statutory threshold for these disbursements and 11 receipts for any one indirect initiative or referendum measure 12 in each election. The General Assembly shall also require by law 13 reasonable limits on contributions made to parties who have an 14 interest in the passage or defeat of an indirect initiative or 15 referendum measure for each measure and in each election. The 16 General Assembly shall also require by law the full disclosure 17 of any disbursements made by a person or corporation from 18 another state to advocate the passage or defeat of an indirect 19 initiative or referendum measure. The General Assembly shall, 20 within 90 days following approval of this section, enact the 21 legislation outlined in this paragraph. 22 (2) An indirect initiative or referendum petition, in order 23 to be eligible for certification by the Secretary of the 24 Commonwealth, shall first be signed by 100 registered electors 25 of the Commonwealth, the originators, who shall pay an 26 administrative fee not exceeding the fee required by law for the 27 filing of nomination petitions by candidates for public office 28 to be filled by the electors of the State-at-large. If the 29 Secretary of the Commonwealth shall certify that the petition 30 contains the entire text of the measure, that the measure is 20070S0347B0383 - 4 -
1 not, either affirmatively or negatively, substantially the same 2 as any measure which has been previously submitted to the 3 electors during the same session of the General Assembly and 4 that it contains only one subject which is not excluded from 5 consideration under this section, then the Secretary of the 6 Commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent 7 signers and shall print at the top of each blank the names of 8 the first ten originators and a fair, concise summary, as 9 determined by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, of the proposed 10 measure as the summary will appear on the ballot. 11 (3) The Department of State shall, within ten days of the 12 certification of an indirect initiative or referendum petition 13 upon which the required number of signatures have been affixed, 14 prepare an explanation or argument, or both, for and also an 15 explanation or argument, or both, against the same. The 16 Secretary of the Commonwealth shall then publish the summary and 17 explanations and arguments, together with the entire text of the 18 measure, in as many newspapers of general circulation as deemed 19 by the Secretary of the Commonwealth to be sufficient to give 20 notice throughout the Commonwealth at least 20 days before the 21 election in which the measure is presented to the electors. This 22 information shall also be made available to the general public 23 in printed form. 24 (4) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall certify no more 25 than two indirect initiative or two referendum measures in an 26 election. Each measure shall be limited to only one subject. If 27 more than two measures are submitted to the Secretary of the 28 Commonwealth, the two measures with the largest numbers of 29 signatures shall be certified. If two or more measures are 30 substantially similar in subject matter, whether or not they 20070S0347B0383 - 5 -
1 conflict, only the measure with the largest number of signatures 2 shall be certified. 3 (5) No more than three indirect initiative and referendum 4 measures shall be certified by the Secretary of the Commonwealth 5 in any two-year period. 6 (6) No measure shall appear on the ballot in an election 7 more often than once during a legislative session. 8 (7) The General Assembly shall not finally adjourn a 9 legislative session without a vote being taken by the Senate and 10 the House of Representatives on a referendum statute that is 11 properly before the General Assembly. The General Assembly may 12 override a referendum statute only upon a vote of two-thirds of 13 the members elected to the Senate and the House of 14 Representatives. 15 Section 2. (a) Upon the first passage by the General 16 Assembly of this proposed constitutional amendment, the 17 Secretary of the Commonwealth shall proceed immediately to 18 comply with the advertising requirements of section 1 of Article 19 XI of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and shall transmit the 20 required advertisements to two newspapers in every county in 21 which such newspapers are published in sufficient time after 22 passage of this proposed constitutional amendment. 23 (b) Upon the second passage by the General Assembly of this 24 proposed constitutional amendment, the Secretary of the 25 Commonwealth shall proceed immediately to comply with the 26 advertising requirements of section 1 of Article XI of the 27 Constitution of Pennsylvania and shall transmit the required 28 advertisements to two newspapers in every county in which such 29 newspapers are published in sufficient time after passage of 30 this proposed constitutional amendment. The Secretary of the 20070S0347B0383 - 6 -
1 Commonwealth shall submit this proposed constitutional amendment 2 to the qualified electors of this Commonwealth at the first 3 primary, general or municipal election occurring at least three 4 months after the proposed constitutional amendment is passed by 5 the General Assembly which meets the requirements of and is in 6 conformance with section 1 of Article XI of the Constitution of 7 Pennsylvania. L5L83DMS/20070S0347B0383 - 7 -