Alaska Constitution
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The Alaska Constitution is the constitution of Alaska. It was ratified in 1956 and took effect with Alaska's admission as a state on January 3, 1959. The constitution can be amended by a majority vote of the people, voting on proposed amendments placed on the ballot by a 2/3rds vote of both houses of the Alaska State Legislature.
Article XI of the Alaska Constitution deals with initiative and referendum.
Articles
Preamble
We the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land, in order to secure and transmit to succeeding generations our heritage of political, civil, and religious liberty within the Union of States, do ordain and establish this constitution for the State of Alaska.
Article I: Declaration of Rights
The constitution begins by establishing the basic rights of Alaska's citizens. Much of Article I essentially reiterates the United States Bill of Rights, but includes several original provisions. Section 3 bans discrimination based on "race, color, creed, sex, or national origin". Section 7, which largely mirrors the Due Process protections under Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, extends protection to "legislative and executive investigations". Section 22 establishes the right to privacy; the Alaska Supreme Court has interpreted this to protect, among other things, home possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Article II: The Legislature
Article II establishes a bicameral Alaska State Legislature, composed of 20 senators elected for four years and 40 representatives elected for two. Many delegates favored a unicameral legislature; this failed but is reflected in the large number of purposes for which joint sessions are required. The delegates trusted the legislature to act responsibly, so the constitution does not contain the detailed limits on the legislature often found in other states.
Article 11: Initiative, Referendum and Recall
Section 11.1 - Initiative and Referendum.
The people may propose and enact laws by the initiative, and approve or reject acts of the legislature by the referendum.
Section 11.2 - Application.
An initiative or referendum is proposed by an application containing the bill to be initiated or the act to be referred. The application shall be signed by not less than one hundred qualified voters as sponsors, and shall be filed with the lieutenant governor. If he finds it in proper form he shall so certify. Denial of certification shall be subject to judicial review.
Section 11.3 - Petition.
After certification of the application, a petition containing a summary of the subject matter shall be prepared by the lieutenant governor for circulation by the sponsors. If signed by qualified voters who are equal in number to at least ten percent of those who voted in the preceding general election, who are resident in at least three-fourths of the house districts of the State, and who, in each of those house districts, are equal in number to at least seven percent of those who voted in the preceding general election in the house district, it may be filed with the lieutenant governor.
Section 11.4 - Initiative Election.
An initiative petition may be filed at any time. The lieutenant governor shall prepare a ballot title and proposition summarizing the proposed law, and shall place them on the ballot for the first statewide election held more than one hundred twenty days after adjournment of the legislative session following the filing. If, before the election, substantially the same measure has been enacted, the petition is void.
Section 11.5 - Referendum Election.
A referendum petition may be filed only within ninety days after adjournment of the legislative session at which the act was passed. The lieutenant governor shall prepare a ballot title and proposition summarizing the act and shall place them on the ballot for the first statewide election held more than one hundred eighty days after adjournment of that session.
Section 11.6 - Enactment.
If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition favor its adoption, the initiated measure is enacted. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition favor the rejection of an act referred, it is rejected. The lieutenant governor shall certify the election returns. An initiated law becomes effective ninety days after certification, is not subject to veto, and may not be repealed by the legislature within two years of its effective date. It may be amended at any time. An act rejected by referendum is void thirty days after certification. Additional procedures for the initiative and referendum may be prescribed by law.
Section 11.7 - Restrictions.
The initiative shall not be used to dedicate revenues, make or repeal appropriations, create courts, define the jurisdiction of courts or prescribe their rules, or enact local or special legislation. The referendum shall not be applied to dedications of revenue, to appropriations, to local or special legislation, or to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.
Section 11.8 - Recall.
All elected public officials in the State, except judicial officers, are subject to recall by the voters of the State or political subdivision from which elected. Procedures and grounds for recall shall be prescribed by the legislature.
External links
- The Constitution of the State of Alaska
- The Constitutionalism of American States
- Creating Alaska – Alaska's Constitution
- Creating Alaska – The Constitutional Convention
- Minutes of the Constitutional Convention
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