A PROPOSITION

No. 17.

Introduced by Mr. Winsor, of Yuma County.

A PROPOSITION RELATIVE TO DIRECT LEGISLATION.

It is hereby proposed:

Section 1. The legislative authority of the State shall be vested in a General Assembly, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives; but the people reserve to themselves power to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution, and to enact or reject the same at the polls, independent of the General Assembly, and also reserve power, at their own option, to approve or reject at the polls any Act of the General Assembly, or any item or items, sections or parts of any Acts of the General Assembly. But nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to deprive any member of the General Assembly of the right to propose any measure or the General Assembly to enact the same.

Section 2. The first power reserved by the people is the Initiative, and not more than eight per centum of the legal voters of the State, as shown by the vote for Governor at the election preceding the filing of any petition for the Initiative, shall be required to propose any measure by such petition.

Section 3. The second power reserved by the people is the Referendum, and it may be ordered, except as to laws immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety, either by petition signed by five per centum of the legal voters of the State, or by the General Assembly, as other measures are enacted. But no such emergency measure, enacted by the General Assembly, shall become immediately operative unless it shall state in a separate section why it is necessary that it shall become immediately operative, and shall be approved by the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, taken by ayes and nays, and also approved by the Governor; and should such measure be vetoed by the Governor, it shall not become operative unless it shall be approved over such veto by the votes of three-fourths of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, taken by ayes and nays.

Section 4. Initiative petitions shall be filed with the Secretary of State not less than four months preceding the date of the election at which the laws so proposed are to be voted upon. Referendum petitions shall be filed with the Secretary of State not more than ninety days after the adjournment of the session of the General Assembly which passed the bill on which the referendum is demanded. The filing of a referendum petition against one or more items, sections or parts of any Act shall not delay the remainder of such Act from becoming operative.

Section 5. Any measure referred to the people, whether initiated by the people or enacted by the General Assembly, shall take effect and become a law when it is approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon and the proclamation of the Governor shall issue, and not otherwise.

Section 6. The veto power of the Governor shall not extend to measures acted upon by the people.

Section 7. The powers of Initiative and Referendum reserved to the people of the State at large by this Constitution are hereby further reserved to the people of every county and municipality, as to all local, special and municipal legislation of every character, for their respective counties and municipalities. Said powers shall be exercised in the manner prescribed for the exercise of the powers reserved to the people of the State at large; except that cities and towns may provide for the manner of exercising such powers as to their municipal legislation.

Section 8. Not more than ten per cent of the legal voters shall be required to order the Referendum nor more than fifteen per cent to propose any measure by the Initiative, in any county or municipality.

Section 9. The exact or substantial form of Initiative petition for any State or county law, amendment to the Constitution of Arizona, city ordinance or amendment to a city charter, or Referendum petition of any State, county or municipal law may be prescribed by the General Assembly, but such petition must be addressed to the Secretary of State in the case of petitions for or on State or county laws, or to the City Clerk, Recorder or other municipal officer corresponding thereto, in the case of petitions for or on municipal laws; shall specify the election, general or municipal, at which it is ordered that the proposed law shall be submitted to the people, and shall contain, in addition to the signatures of the petitioners, the declaration of each for himself that he is a legal voter of the State of Arizona and of the county or municipality, as the case may be, for which the measure may be proposed, his post-office address and residence, and in the case of a municipal election his street and number, and the date on which he signed the petition. Each sheet containing petitioners’ signatures shall be attached to a full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure so proposed to be initiated or referred to the people, and each and every sheet of every such petition containing signatures shall be verified on the back thereof by the affidavit of the person who circulated said sheet or petition, setting forth that each of the names on said sheet was signed in the presence of the affiant and that in the belief of the affiant each signer was a legal voter of the State and of the county or municipality affected by the proposed law so initiated or ordered to be referred to the people.

Section 10. When any measure shall be filed with the Secretary of State to be referred to the people of the State or of any county, either by the General Assembly or by referendum petition, and when any measure shall be proposed by initiative petition, the Secretary of State shall forthwith transmit to the Attorney-General of the State a copy thereof, and within ten days thereafter the Attorney-General shall provide and return to the Secretary of State a ballot title, which may be distinct from the legislative title, for said measure. Said ballot title shall contain not more than one hundred words, and shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure, in such language as not to create, intentionally, prejudice either for or against the measure. The Secretary of State shall number the measured filed with him and furnish to the Clerks of the Boards of Supervisors of the several counties a certified copy of such ballot titles and the numbers of the several measures to be voted upon at the ensuing general election, and such numbers and ballot titles shall be printed on the official ballot in the order in which the Acts referred by the General Assembly and petitions by the people shall be filed in his office. Each measure shall be designated by a heading showing it to have been referred to the people by the General Assembly, ordered by referendum petition of the people, or proposed by initiative petition. The enacting clause of all measures initiated by the people shall be: “Be it enacted by the People of the State of Arizona.” The enacting clause of all measures referred to the people by the General Assembly or by referendum petition shall be: “Be it enacted by the General Assembly and the People of the State of Arizona.”

Section 11. If the Secretary of State shall refuse to accept and file any petition for the Initiative or for the Referendum, any citizen may apply, within ten days after such refusal, to the District Court of the county in which the capitol of the State shall be situate, in all cases of measures to be submitted to the electors of the state at large or of any county of the State, and in cases of municipal measures to the District Court of the municipality in which such measures are to be voted upon, for a writ of mandamus to compel him to do so. If it shall be decided by the Court that such petition is legally sufficient the Secretary of State shall then file it, with a certified copy of the judgement attached thereto, as of the date on which it was originally offered for filing in his office.

Section 12. Not later than fifty-five days before any general election at which any proposed law, part of an Act or proposed amendment to the Constitution is to be submitted to the people, the Secretary of State shall mail to every voter in the State, or in the case of a local or special law, to every voter of the county affected, whose address he shall have, a true copy of the title and text of each measure to be submitted, with the number and form in which the ballot title thereof will be printed on the official ballot; and the expense of said printing and mailing shall be borne by the State, except that in the case of local or special laws, the cost of such printing and mailing shall be a charge against the county affected.

Section 13. No measure shall be adopted until it shall receive a majority of the total number of votes cast on such measure.

Section 14. If two or more conflicting laws shall be approved by the people at the same election, the law receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall be paramount in all particulars as to which there is conflict, even though such law may not have received the greatest majority of affirmative votes. If two or more conflicting amendments to the Constitution shall be approved by the people at the same election, the amendment which receives the greatest number of affirmative votes shall be paramount in all particulars as to which there is conflict, even though such amendment may not have received the greatest majority of affirmative votes.

Section 15. The votes on measures and questions shall be counted, canvassed and returned as votes for candidates are counted, canvassed and returned, and in like manner the abstracts of such votes returned to the Secretary of State. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, in the presence of the Governor, to proceed within thirty days after the election to canvass the votes given for each measure; and the Governor shall forthwith issue his proclamation, giving the whole number of votes cast in the State, or in any county in the case of a local or special measure, for and against each measure and question, and declaring such measures as are approved by a majority of those voting thereon to be in full force and effect as the law of the State of Arizona, or of any county thereof in the case of local or special measures, from the date of said proclamation; provided, that if two or more measures shall be approved at said election which are known to conflict with each other or to contain conflicting provisions he shall also proclaim which is paramount in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 hereof.

Section 16. In all cities and towns which may not provide by ordinance for the manner of exercising the Initiative and Referendum powers reserved by this Constitution to the people of such cities and towns as to their municipal legislation, the duties required of the Secretary of State as to State legislation, shall be performed, as to such municipal legislation, by the City of Town Clerk, Recorder or corresponding officer; the duties required of the Governor shall be performed by the Mayor or corresponding officer, and the duties required of the Attorney-General shall be performed by the City Attorney or corresponding officer. The procedure in municipal legislation, under the Initiative and Referendum powers reserved to the people, shall be, as nearly as practicable, the same as the procedure for measures relating to the people of the State at large.

Section 17. In the case of municipal legislation, referendum petitions shall be filed with the designated official within thirty days after the passage of the ordinance, resolution or franchise so ordered to be referred, in whole or in part, to the people.

Section 18. No ordinance, resolution or franchise shall take effect and become operative until thirty days after its passage by the Council, or corresponding body, and approval by the Mayor, unless the same shall be passed over his veto, and in that case it shall not take effect and become operative until thirty days after such final passage, except measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health or safety of the city; and no such emergency measure shall become immediately operative unless it shall state in a separate section the reasons why it is necessary that it should become immediately operative, and shall be approved by the votes of three-fourths of all the members elected to the City Council, taken by yeas and nays, and also approved by the Mayor.

Section 19. If any municipal ordinance, charter or amendment shall be proposed by initiative petition, said petition shall be filed with the designated official and by him transmitted to the next session of the City Council, or corresponding body. Within thirty days after the date of filing said petition with the designated officer, the Council shall either ordain or reject the proposed ordinance, charter or amendment, and if the Council shall reject the same, or shall take no action thereon, then the City Clerk, or corresponding officer, shall submit the question or measure to the voters of the city or town at the next ensuing election, not less than ninety days after the petition was first presented to the City Council. The Council may ordain such ordinance or amendment and refer it to the people, or may so ordain without referring to the people, and in that case it shall be subject to referendum petition in like manner as other ordinances. If the Council shall reject said ordinance or amendment, or take no action thereon, it may ordain a competing ordinance or amendment, which shall be submitted at the same election at which said initiative proposal is submitted. Such competing ordinance or amendment shall be ordained by the Council within thirty days allowed for action on the measure proposed by the people. The Mayor shall not have the power to veto either of such measures. If conflicting ordinances or charter amendments shall be submitted to the people at the same election, and two or more of such conflicting measures shall be approved by the people, then the measure which shall have received the greatest number of affirmative votes shall be paramount in all particulars as to which there is conflict, even though such measure may not have received the greatest majority. Amendments to any City Charter may be proposed and submitted to the people by the City Council, with or without an initiative petition, but the same shall be filed with the City Clerk not less than sixty days before the election at which they are to be voted upon, and no amendment of a City Charter shall be effective until it is approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon by the people of the city or town to which it applies. The City Council may by ordinance order special elections to vote on municipal measures.

Section 20. The General Assembly shall provide, as in felony cases, a penalty for any person or officer who shall willfully violate any of the Initiative and Referendum provisions of this Constitution.

• Proposition Number 17 - Direct Legislation (introduced on 1910-10-18 09:00:00 - CREATE - e934013) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]
  • None (introduced on 1910-10-18 09:00:00 - REPORT_PROPOSAL - e934014) [view current proposal at this moment]