PRINTER'S NO. 643
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
574
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY CONKLIN, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, MAHONEY, MULLERY AND
TRUITT, FEBRUARY 23, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 23, 2015
AN ACT
Providing for a Citizens Constitutional Convention, for a
referendum on the question and for the selection of
delegates; defining the powers and duties of the convention;
providing for operation of the convention; conferring powers
and imposing duties on the Governor, the Secretary of the
Commonwealth, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
providing for a referendum on the convention's report; and
making an appropriation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1. Short title.
Section 2. Definitions.
Section 3. Referendum.
Section 4. Convention, membership, qualifications and
vacancies.
Section 5. Organization of convention and sessions.
Section 6. Function.
Section 7. Manner of submitting proposals to electorate.
Section 8. Submission to electorate.
Section 9. Lobbying.
Section 10. Convention open to public.
Section 11. Judicial immunity.
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Section 12. Appropriation.
Section 13. Effective date.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Citizens
Constitutional Convention Act of 2015.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Committee." The preparatory committee established under
this act.
"Convention." The Citizens Constitutional Convention
authorized by this act.
"Delegate." A citizen of this Commonwealth who is selected
to serve at the convention or as an alternate to the convention.
"Independent entity." A corporation, partnership,
institution of higher learning or other entity that does not
receive funds from the Commonwealth either directly or
indirectly and that does not seek to influence the passage of
legislation or regulations by the Commonwealth either directly
or indirectly.
"Public official." A person elected by the public, elected
or appointed by a governmental body or an appointed official in
the executive, legislative or judicial branch of this
Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions. The term
shall not include members of advisory boards that have no
authority to do any of the following:
(1) Expend public funds, other than reimbursement for
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personal expenses.
(2) Otherwise exercise the power of the Commonwealth or
any of its subdivisions.
"Secretary." The Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Section 3. Referendum.
(a) Question.--At the general election on November 3, 2015,
the following question shall be submitted to the electorate of
this Commonwealth to determine its will regarding a
Constitutional Convention:
Shall a Constitutional Convention be called in accordance
with and subject to the limitations and requirements
contained in the Citizens Constitutional Convention Act of
2015 to prepare for submission to the electorate proposals
for the revision of the Constitution of Pennsylvania?
(1) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article I, the Declaration of Rights?
(2) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article II, the Legislature?
(3) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article III, Legislation?
(4) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article IV, the Executive?
(5) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article V, the Judiciary?
(6) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
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referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article VI, Public Officers?
(7) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article VII, Elections?
(8) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article VIII, Taxation and Finance?
(9) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by this
referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to recommend
changes to Article IX, Local Government?
(10) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by
this referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to
recommend changes to Article X, Private Corporations?
(11) If a Constitutional Convention is authorized by
this referendum, shall the delegates be permitted to
recommend changes to Article XI, Amendments?
(b) Referendum.--The secretary shall certify questions to
the county boards. The election shall be conducted in accordance
with the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the
Pennsylvania Election Code.
(c) Secretary.--If a majority of the electors casting votes
on the question under subsection (a) vote in the affirmative,
the secretary shall transmit notice of the vote, including any
prohibitions under subsection (a)(1) through (11), to the
Legislative Reference Bureau for publication as a notice in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Section 4. Convention, membership, qualifications and
vacancies.
(a) Call.--If a majority of the electors voting upon the
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question set forth in section 3(a) vote in the affirmative, a
convention shall be called by the Governor.
(b) Delegates.--Within seven days of the approval of the
question set forth in section 3(a), the secretary shall issue a
request for proposals from independent entities for the purposes
of:
(1) determining a system for selecting delegates to the
Constitutional Convention that will result in a body of no
fewer than 150 nor more than 200 delegates who, in the
aggregate, accurately represent the citizenry of this
Commonwealth geographically, demographically and
economically; and
(2) managing the Constitutional Convention as required
by section 5(c), including the operation of the convention,
communications with the public, and creating the official
record of the convention beginning with introduction of this
act and ending within six months of the referendum where
citizens accept or reject the convention's recommendations.
Within 30 days of the approval of the question set forth in
section 3(a), the secretary shall award a contract to an
independent entity for the purpose of delegate selection and
convention management. Any subcontractors the independent entity
will employ must be disclosed in its proposal to the secretary
and must be subject to the same criteria as those applied to the
independent entity defined in section 2. Within 120 days of the
approval of the question set forth in section 3(a), the
independent entity shall select delegates and alternate
delegates in accordance with the proposal submitted to the
secretary and shall publish for the delegates and the public
proposed rules of procedure for the convention.
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(c) Qualifications.--A delegate must meet the following
qualifications:
(1) Be at least 18 years of age prior to November 3,
2015.
(2) Have been a citizen and resident of this
Commonwealth for at least four years before the election.
(3) Reside in the geographic area the delegate
represents during the delegate's term of service.
(d) Salary.--Delegates shall be entitled to a salary equal
to the salary of a member of the General Assembly during their
term of service, payable monthly.
(e) Expenses.--Delegates shall be entitled to reimbursement
for the following expenses:
(1) Actual mileage traveled in a personal vehicle in the
performance of their duties during their term of service,
documented, reported and payable monthly at the applicable
Federal rate, including commuting mileage.
(2) Actual expenses for other modes of ground
transportation in the performance of their duties during
their term of service, documented, reported and payable
monthly, including commuting expenses.
(3) Actual expenses for overnight lodging required for
the convenience of delegates traveling more than 50 miles
from their residence in the performance of their duties
during their term of service, documented, reported and
payable monthly.
(4) All documentation used to reimburse delegates for
eligible expenses shall be public records. Access to, and
copies of, the records shall be without cost to the
requester.
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(f) Terms of service.--Terms of service for delegates shall
commence on the date of their oath of office. Terms shall expire
30 days following publication of the recommendations authorized
by the delegates to the convention.
(g) Exclusions.--The following shall apply:
(1) No delegate shall, during his or her term of
service, be appointed to or hold any civil office under this
Commonwealth to which a salary, fee or perquisite is
attached.
(2) No member of Congress or other person holding any
office, except that of attorney at law or in the National
Guard or a reserve component of the armed forces of the
United States, under the United States or this Commonwealth
to which a salary, fee or perquisite is attached shall be a
delegate during their continuance in office.
(3) Delegates shall be prohibited from serving as a
public official for a period of two years after their term of
service expires.
Section 5. Organization of convention and sessions.
(a) Convening.--The following shall apply:
(1) The convention's delegates shall convene in the Hall
of the House of Representatives on April 4, 2016, at 12 noon.
(2) The convention shall be called to order by the
Governor.
(3) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
administer the oath of office in the following form:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey
and defend the Constitution of the United States and the
Constitution of Pennsylvania, that I will abide by the
limitations and requirements of the referendum conducted
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pursuant to the Citizens Constitutional Convention Act of
2015, and that I will discharge my duties with fidelity.
(4) Each delegate shall sign and swear a written version
of the oath of office, provided by the secretary, to be
preserved with the official journals of the convention, and
other copies as needed by the secretary.
(b) Organization.--The following shall apply:
(1) The convention shall be the final judge of the
qualifications of its own delegates.
(2) The convention shall elect from among its delegates
a president, first vice-president, second vice-president and
secretary.
(3) The convention shall organize one committee for each
article of the Constitution of Pennsylvania subject to the
scope of the convention.
(4) The convention shall organize a committee on
arrangement, submission and address to the people.
(c) Duties of independent entity.--The following shall
apply:
(1) The independent entity shall prescribe rules for all
of the following, subject to adoption by a majority of the
delegates at the commencement of working sessions:
(i) Procedure.
(ii) Conduct of delegates, including censure,
suspension or removal.
(2) The independent entity shall be authorized to do all
of the following, when required for the conduct of the
business of the convention:
(i) Lease or otherwise obtain suitable meeting and
office space and to purchase or lease supplies,
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equipment, publications and other material necessary for
the work of the convention.
(ii) Initiate relevant studies through its own
personnel or in cooperation with any public or private
agencies.
(iii) Hold public hearings.
(iv) Enter into contracts.
(v) Receive from the Commonwealth agencies and
political subdivisions and local agencies assistance
necessary or desirable to carry out properly the powers
and duties under this subsection.
(vi) Submit a budget and additional reports to the
General Assembly in sufficient time for the General
Assembly to pass any necessary appropriation act required
by section 12, as needed.
(d) Sessions.--The following shall apply:
(1) The organizational session shall be adjourned no
later than 5 p.m. on April 6, 2016.
(2) Working sessions of the convention shall commence on
May 2, 2016.
(e) Sine die adjournment.--The convention shall adjourn sine
die no later than August 1, 2016.
Section 6. Function.
(a) Scope.--The convention has the power, by a vote of two-
thirds of its elected delegates on final passage, to make
recommendations to the electorate on all subjects contained
within the Constitution of Pennsylvania except for those
prohibited by the citizens through the referendum conducted
pursuant to section 3(a).
(b) Reorganization.--In dealing with the subject matter
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under subsection (a), the convention may recommend amendment,
addition, deletion, division, transfer, continuation without
change and implementation schedules.
Section 7. Manner of submitting proposals to electorate.
(a) Convention.--The following shall apply:
(1) The recommendations of the convention shall be
submitted to the electorate as determined by the convention.
(2) The convention shall frame the ballot question or
questions.
(b) Certification.--The changes proposed and the ballot
question or questions shall be certified by the president and
secretary of the convention to the secretary by September 30,
2015.
Section 8. Submission to electorate.
(a) Secretary.--The following shall apply:
(1) The secretary shall publish the Constitution of
Pennsylvania showing the changes proposed by the convention
and any address to the people by the convention, in
convenient printed form and in convenient digital form at the
earliest time practicable after certification.
(2) The secretary shall advertise the proposals and
address of the convention in at least two newspapers of
general circulation in every county once during the second
week of October 2016 and once during the fourth week of
October 2016.
(3) The secretary shall send a sufficient number of
copies of the printed publication under paragraph (1) to each
county board to satisfy the requirements of subsection (b).
(4) Upon request of an elector, the secretary shall send
a copy of the publication under paragraph (1).
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(b) County boards.--Each county board shall make the
publication under subsection (a)(1) available at each polling
place in a quantity equal to the number of voting booths,
terminals or stations at that polling place.
(c) Election.--The following shall apply:
(1) The recommendations of the convention shall be
submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection at
the municipal election on November 8, 2016.
(2) A majority affirmative vote of the electors casting
votes on the ballot question or questions certified under
section 7(b) in the election is necessary for the adoption of
the recommendations of the convention.
(d) Certification.--The secretary shall certify the results
of the election no later than November 30, 2016.
Section 9. Lobbying.
(a) Delegates.--The following shall apply:
(1) Direct lobbying of individual delegates by
organizations or individuals registered as lobbyists within
this Commonwealth on the effective date of this act and for
the duration of the convention, other than meetings between
individual electors of a geographic area and the delegate or
delegates representing the same geographic area, shall be
prohibited.
(2) No delegate shall accept any gift, meal, service or
other benefit, or any promise of such in the future, offered
by any party in an effort to influence the outcome of the
convention. Both the offer and acceptance of such a gift,
meal, service or other benefit shall constitute a felony of
the first degree.
(b) Convention.--The following shall apply:
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(1) Lobbyists prohibited from lobbying delegates in
subsection (a)(1) shall be permitted to lobby the convention
as a whole by the following methods, all of which shall be
public documents and shall be readily available on the
Internet website that documents the convention:
(i) Providing printed reference materials in
quantities sufficient for distribution to all delegates,
subject to any pertinent policies adopted by the
convention.
(ii) Providing printed and oral testimony at a
hearing before any committee or subcommittee of the
convention, subject to any pertinent policies adopted by
the convention.
(iii) Providing printed reference materials to
committees or subcommittees of the convention in
quantities sufficient for distribution to all delegates,
subject to any pertinent policies adopted by the
convention.
(2) The convention shall not accept, on behalf of its
delegates, any gift, meal, service or other benefit, or any
promise of such in the future, offered by any party in an
effort to influence the outcome of the convention. Both the
offer and acceptance of such a gift, meal, service or other
benefit shall constitute a felony of the first degree.
Section 10. Convention open to public.
Sessions of the convention as a whole and all meetings of its
committees and subcommittees shall be open to the public, shall
be recorded in electronic form and shall be made available as
promptly as possible on the Internet at a website dedicated
exclusively to the work of the convention.
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Section 11. Judicial immunity.
Provided no portion of the resultant Constitution of
Pennsylvania, duly proposed by the convention and adopted by the
electorate according to the provisions of this act, is found to
be in violation of the Constitution of the United States, no
court of this Commonwealth shall have the authority to overturn
its provisions.
Section 12. Appropriation.
If the question in section 3(a) is approved by the
electorate, the sum of $20,000,000 shall be transferred from the
nonlapsing leadership accounts of the General Assembly, in four
equal contributions by the majority and minority caucuses of the
Senate and the House of Representatives, to carry out the
provisions of this act. Further sums required by the convention
to perform its duties, contributed in similar fashion, shall be
provided upon request by the convention in accordance with
section 5(c)(2)(vi).
Section 13. Effective date.
This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Section 12 of this act shall take effect upon
publication of the notice provided for in section 3(c).
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect
immediately.
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