NTF Worksheet: ntfpetition17. doc. 1-03.
NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS FOR FREEDOM WORKSHEET:
PETITION LANGUAGE FOR PETITION RIGHTS RESTORATION PETITION.
BACKGROUND.
A 1988 constitutional amendment required petition
signatures of 10% of registered voters to place a proposed amendment on
the ballot, in contrast to the previous wording that the number of signatures
required must equal 10% of the number of votes cast in the last general
election for governor.1
(see NTF issue paper Petition Nebraska, p.2).
Its parent was LB 248, sponsored by Sens. Tim Hall and Ernie Chambers.
This bill changed the wording “electors” to “registered voters”
for percentages needed on initiative and referendum petitions.
An elector is a Nebraska resident voter of legal voting age.
In 1994, our State Supreme Court (Duggan v. Berman) ruled in favor of
this amendment for the purposes of determining initiative petition signature
requirements and almost doubled the number of signatures required to 110,000.
This decision stands, despite previous law clearly stating that the whole
number of votes cast for governor at the regular election last preceding the
filing of an initiative or referendum petition is the basis on which to
calculate the number of legal voters required to sign such petition. A 1996 initiative petition effort to restore the original
signature requirement failed at the general election ballot.
PURPOSE.
The objective of this initiative petition is to
approximately restore the constitutional petition language to the original
intent that existed prior to 1988.
ARTICLE III: Legislative
Power
Sec.
2. The first power reserved by the
people is the initiative whereby laws may be enacted and constitutional
amendments adopted by the people independently of the Legislature.
This power may be invoked by petition wherein the proposed measure shall
be set forth at length. If the
petition be for the enactment of a law, it shall be signed by seven percent of
the registered voters whole number of voters voting for Governor in
the most recent gubernatorial election of the state, and if the petition be
for the amendment of the Constitution, the petition therefor shall be signed by
ten percent of such registered voters whole number of voters voting
for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election.
In all cases the registered voters electors signing such
petition shall be so distributed as to include five percent of the registered
voters whole number of voters voting for Governor in the most recent
gubernatorial election of each of two-fifths of the counties of the state,
and when thus signed, the petition shall be filed with the Secretary of State
who shall submit the measure thus proposed to the electors of the state at the
first general election held not less than four months after such petition shall
have been filed. The same measure,
either in form or in essential substance, shall not be submitted to the people
by initiative petition, either affirmatively or negatively, more often than once
in three years. If conflicting
measures submitted to the people at the same election be approved, the one
receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall thereby become law as to
all conflicting provisions. The
constitutional limitations as to the scope and subject matter of statutes
enacted by the Legislature shall apply to those enacted by the initiative.
Initiative measures shall contain only one subject.
(Adopted 1912. Amended 1920,
1988,1998).
Sec.
3. The second power reserved is the
referendum which may be invoked, by petition, against any act or part of an act
of the Legislature, except those making appropriations for the expense of the
state government or a state institution existing at the time of the passage of
such act. Petitions invoking the
referendum shall be signed by not less than five percent of the registered
voters whole number of voters voting for Governor in the most recent
gubernatorial election of the state, distributed as required for initiative
petitions, and filed in the office of the Secretary of State within ninety days
after the Legislature at which the act sought to be referred was passed shall
have adjourned sine die or for more than ninety days. Each such petition shall set out the title of the act against
which the referendum is invoked and, in addition thereto, when only a portion of
the act is sought to be referred, the number of the section or sections or
portion of sections of the act designating such portion.
No more than one act or portion of an act of the Legislature shall be the
subject of each referendum petition. When
the referendum is thus invoked, the Secretary of State shall refer the same to
the electors for approval or rejection at the first general election to be held
not less than thirty days after the filing of such petition.
When the referendum is invoked as to any act or part of act, other than
emergency acts or those for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, or safety, by petition signed by not less than ten percent of the registered
voters whole number of voters voting for Governor in the most
recent gubernatorial election of the state distributed as aforesaid, it
shall suspend the taking effect of such act or part of act until the same has
been approved by the electors of the state.
(Adopted 1912. Amended 1920, 1988, 1998).
Research, documentation, and analysis for this worksheet done by Doug Kagan and Randy Pfeiffer. This material copyrighted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, with express prior permission granted for its use by Taxwatchers Inc., Cherry County Taxpayers, Dawes County Taxpayers, NE Right to Life, and other groups in the Tax Freedom Network. 1-03. Revised 6-03, 10-03. Copyrighted.