February 12, 2008, Introduced by Senator McMANUS and referred to the Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight.
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the state
constitution of 1963, by amending section 9 of article II, to
revise the signature requirements for initiative and referendum
petitions.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
state of Michigan, That the following amendment to the state
constitution of 1963, to revise the signature requirements for
initiative and referendum petitions, is proposed, agreed to, and
submitted to the people of the state:
ARTICLE II
Sec. 9. The people reserve to themselves the power to propose
laws and to enact and reject laws, called the initiative, and the
power to approve or reject laws enacted by the legislature, called
the referendum. The power of initiative extends only to laws which
the legislature may enact under this constitution. The power of
referendum does not extend to acts making appropriations for state
institutions or to meet deficiencies in state funds and must be
invoked in the manner prescribed by law within 90 days following
the final adjournment of the legislative session at which the law
was enacted. To invoke the initiative or referendum, petitions
shall be signed by a number of registered electors, not less than
eight percent for initiative and five percent for referendum of the
total vote cast for all candidates for governor at the last
preceding
general election at which a governor was elected, shall
be
required who are residents in
at least three-fourths of the
house districts of this state, and who, in each of those house
districts, are equal in number to at least seven percent of those
who voted in that house district for governor at the last preceding
general election at which a governor was elected.
No law as to which the power of referendum properly has been
invoked shall be effective thereafter unless approved by a majority
of the electors voting thereon at the next general election.
Any law proposed by initiative petition shall be either
enacted or rejected by the legislature without change or amendment
within
40 session days from the time such the
petition is received
by
the legislature. If any law proposed by
such the petition
shall
be enacted by the legislature it shall be subject to referendum, as
hereinafter provided.
If the law so proposed is not enacted by the legislature
within the 40 days, the state officer authorized by law shall
submit such
the proposed law to the people for approval or
rejection at the next general election. The legislature may reject
any measure so proposed by initiative petition and propose a
different measure upon the same subject by a yea and nay vote upon
separate roll calls, and in such event both measures shall be
submitted by such state officer to the electors for approval or
rejection at the next general election.
Any law submitted to the people by either initiative or
referendum petition and approved by a majority of the votes cast
thereon at any election shall take effect 10 days after the date of
the official declaration of the vote. No law initiated or adopted
by the people shall be subject to the veto power of the governor,
and no law adopted by the people at the polls under the initiative
provisions of this section shall be amended or repealed, except by
a vote of the electors unless otherwise provided in the initiative
measure or by three-fourths of the members elected to and serving
in each house of the legislature. Laws approved by the people under
the referendum provision of this section may be amended by the
legislature at any subsequent session thereof. If two or more
measures approved by the electors at the same election conflict,
that receiving the highest affirmative vote shall prevail.
The legislature shall implement the provisions of this
section.
Resolved further, That the foregoing amendment shall be
submitted to the people of the state at the next general election
in the manner provided by law.