Georgia House of Representatives - 1995/1996 Sessions

HR 6 - Initiative petition; power to enact or reject - CA

Page Numbers - 1/ 2/ 3/ 4

1. Poston  3rd


House Comm: Judy       /                Senate Comm:            /                                   
House Vote: Yeas       Nays             Senate Vote: Yeas     Nays                                  
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               House          Action         Senate                                                 
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              1/9/95   Read 1st Time                                                                
              1/10/95  Read 2nd Time                                                                
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Rules Suspended to Introduce                                                                        
                                                                                                    
Code Sections amended:                                                                              


HR 6                                              LC 18 6338






                             A RESOLUTION

  1- 1  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide
  1- 2  that the people of the State of Georgia shall have the power
  1- 3  to enact or reject, by the initiative petition process,
  1- 4  general statutes and amendments to the Constitution; to
  1- 5  provide procedures and restrictions connected therewith; to
  1- 6  provide exceptions; to provide that the provisions shall be
  1- 7  self-executing; to provide for the submission of this
  1- 8  amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other
  1- 9  purposes.

  1-10       BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

                         SECTION 1.

  1-11  Article III, Section I of the Constitution of Georgia is
  1-12  amended by striking Paragraph I and inserting in its place a
  1-13  new Paragraph I to read as follows:

  1-14      "Paragraph I. Power vested in General Assembly; public
  1-15    initiative. (a)  The legislative power of the state shall
  1-16    be vested in a General Assembly which shall consist of a
  1-17    Senate and a House of Representatives; provided, however,
  1-18    that the people reserve to themselves the power to propose
  1-19    general laws and amendments to the Constitution and to
  1-20    enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the
  1-21    General Assembly and also reserve power at their own
  1-22    option to approve or reject at the polls any general Act
  1-23    or any item, section, or part of any general Act of the
  1-24    General Assembly.

  1-25      (b) The first power reserved by the people under this
  1-26    Paragraph is the initiative, and signatures by registered
  1-27    electors in an amount equal to at least 5 percent of the
  1-28    total number of votes cast for all candidates for the
  1-29    office of Secretary of State at the previous general
  1-30    election shall be required to propose any measure by
  1-31    petition, and every such petition shall include the full
  1-32    text of the measure so proposed.  Initiative petitions for
  1-33    state legislation and amendments to the Constitution, in
  1-34    such form as may be prescribed pursuant to general law,
  1-35    shall be addressed to and filed with the Secretary of



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                                                  LC 18 6338

  2- 1    State at least three months before the general election at
  2- 2    which they are to be voted upon.

  2- 3      (c) The second power reserved by the people under this
  2- 4    Paragraph is the referendum, and it may be ordered against
  2- 5    any general Act or any item, section, or part of any
  2- 6    general Act of the General Assembly by a petition signed
  2- 7    by registered electors in an amount equal to at least 5
  2- 8    percent of the total number of votes cast for all
  2- 9    candidates for the office of the Secretary of State at the
  2-10    previous general election or by the General Assembly.
  2-11    Referendum petitions, in such form as may be prescribed by
  2-12    general law, shall be addressed to and filed with the
  2-13    Secretary of State not more than 90 days after the final
  2-14    adjournment of the session of the General Assembly that
  2-15    passed the bill on which the referendum is demanded.  The
  2-16    filing of a referendum petition against any item, section,
  2-17    or part of any Act shall not delay the general Act from
  2-18    becoming operative.

  2-19      (d) Statutory initiatives and constitutional initiatives
  2-20    must be signed by 5 percent of the registered electors in
  2-21    at least seven of the 11 U.S. Congressional districts in
  2-22    this state in order to be placed on the ballot.

  2-23      (e) The veto power of the Governor shall not extend to
  2-24    measures initiated by or referred to the people.  All
  2-25    elections on measures initiated by or referred to the
  2-26    people of this state shall be held at the biennial regular
  2-27    general election, and all such measures shall become the
  2-28    law or a part of the Constitution when approved by a
  2-29    majority of the votes cast thereon, and not otherwise, and
  2-30    shall take effect from and after the date of the official
  2-31    declaration of the vote thereon by proclamation of the
  2-32    Governor but not later than 30 days after the vote has
  2-33    been canvassed.  This Paragraph shall not be construed to
  2-34    deprive the General Assembly of the power to enact any
  2-35    measure.

  2-36      (f) The original draft of the text of proposed initiated
  2-37    constitutional amendments and initiated general laws shall
  2-38    be submitted to the legislative research and drafting
  2-39    offices of the General Assembly for review and comment.
  2-40    No later than two weeks after submission of the original
  2-41    draft, unless withdrawn by proponents, the legislative
  2-42    research and drafting offices of the General Assembly
  2-43    shall render their comments to the proponents of the
  2-44    proposed measure at a meeting open to the public which


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                                                  LC 18 6338

  3- 1    shall be held only after full and timely notice to the
  3- 2    public.  Such meeting shall be held prior to the fixing of
  3- 3    a ballot title.  Neither the General Assembly nor its
  3- 4    committees or agencies shall have any power to require the
  3- 5    amendment, modification, or other alteration of the text
  3- 6    of any such proposed measure or to establish deadlines for
  3- 7    the submission of the original draft of the text of any
  3- 8    proposed measure.

  3- 9      (g) The petition shall consist of sheets having such
  3-10    general form printed or written at the top thereof as
  3-11    shall be designated or prescribed by the Secretary of
  3-12    State; such petition shall be signed by registered
  3-13    electors in their own proper persons only, to which shall
  3-14    be attached the residence address of such persons and the
  3-15    date of signing the same.  To each of such petitions,
  3-16    which may consist of one or more sheets, shall be attached
  3-17    an affidavit of some registered elector that each
  3-18    signature thereon is the signature of the person whose
  3-19    name it purports to be and that, to the best of the
  3-20    knowledge and belief of the affiant, each of the persons
  3-21    signing said petition was, at the time of signing, a
  3-22    registered elector.  Such petitions shall be verified by
  3-23    the Secretary of State's office as prescribed pursuant to
  3-24    general law as to the signatures thereon being genuine and
  3-25    true and that the persons signing the same are registered
  3-26    electors.

  3-27      (h) The Secretary of State shall submit all measures
  3-28    initiated by or referred to the people for adoption or
  3-29    rejection at the polls in compliance with this Paragraph.
  3-30    The text of all measures to be submitted shall be
  3-31    published as constitutional amendments are published; and,
  3-32    in submitting the same and in all matters pertaining to
  3-33    the form of all petitions, the Secretary of State and all
  3-34    other officers shall be guided by the general laws.

  3-35      (i) The style of all general laws adopted by the people
  3-36    through initiative shall be, 'Be it Enacted by the People
  3-37    of the State of Georgia.'

  3-38      (j) This Paragraph of the Constitution shall be in all
  3-39    respects self-executing, except that the form of the
  3-40    initiative or referendum petition may be prescribed
  3-41    pursuant to general law."

                         SECTION 2.




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                                                  LC 18 6338

  4- 1  The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be
  4- 2  published and submitted as provided in Article X, Section I,
  4- 3  Paragraph II of the Constitution.

  4- 4  The ballot submitting the above proposed amendment shall
  4- 5  have written or printed thereon the following:

  4- 6    "(  ) YES Shall the Constitution be amended so as to
  4- 7              provide that the people of the State of
  4- 8     (  ) NO  Georgia shall have the power through the
  4- 9              process of obtaining the signatures of 5
  4-10              percent of the registered electors in at least
  4-11              seven of the 11 congressional districts on an
  4-12              initiative petition and submitting the
  4-13              petition to the registered voters of the state
  4-14              for approval or rejection, which shall be
  4-15              known as the initiative petition process, to
  4-16              enact or repeal general statutes, amendments
  4-17              to general statutes, and amendments to the
  4-18              Constitution?"

  4-19  All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the
  4-20  proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."  All persons desiring
  4-21  to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote
  4-22  "No."

  4-23  If such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said
  4-24  Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become a part of the
  4-25  Constitution of this state.
















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