Amending state constitutions
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Each American state has its own rules and procedures that govern how its constitution can be amended.
Legislative amendments
Every state except Delaware allows its state legislature to propose legislatively-referred constitutional amendments. 36 states permit an amendment to be submitted to the state's voters after one passage through the legislature. Eleven states require two passages, often with the requirement that a state legislative election intervene between the two times the amendment is considered in the legislature. Three states (Connecticut, Hawaii, and New Jersey) have an either/or system: a proposed amendment must be passed by simple majority in two separate legislative sessions, or by a supermajority vote of one session.
The Delaware Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds vote by two consecutive legislatures but there is no ratifying vote of the people.[1]
Initiated amendments
- See also: Initiated constitutional amendments
Eighteen states allow voters the right to amend their constitution through the ballot initiative process.
These states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Dakota.
As a practical matter, it is considered nearly impossible to meet the ballot qualification standards in Illinois and Mississippi.
In Nevada, voters must approve a constitutional amendment in two separate elections before it goes into effect.
Constitutional conventions
- See also: Constitutional conventions
South Dakota
Amendments to the South Dakota Constitution may be proposed by by a majority vote of all members of each house of the South Dakota Legislature.
A proposed amendment may amend one or more articles and related subject matter in other articles as necessary to accomplish the objectives of the amendment.[2]
Texas
As laid out in Article 17, in order for a proposed constitutional amendment to go before the people, the Texas State Legislature must propose the amendment in a joint resolution of both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives. The joint resolution can originate in either the House or the Senate. The resolution must be adopted by a vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house of the legislature. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Senate.
Amendments may be proposed in either regular or special sessions.
Joint resolutions endorsing a proposed amendment must include the text of the proposed constitutional amendment and specify an election date. These joint resolutions may include more than one proposed amendment.
If more than one proposition is under consideration on a ballot, the Texas Secretary of State conducts a random drawing to assign each proposition a ballot number.
If voters reject an amendment, the legislature can resubmit it. For example, after Proposition 2 was rejected in August 1991, the legislature re-adopted it and re-submitted it for that year's November ballot, where it was approved as Texas Proposition 13 (1991).
The ballot wording of a proposition is specified in the joint resolution adopted by the Legislature, which has broad discretion in this matter. Texas courts have heard challenges to proposed ballot wording but have generally ruled that "ballot language is sufficient if it describes the proposed amendment with such definiteness and certainty that voters will not be misled."[3]
The Legislature may call an election for voter consideration of proposed constitutional amendments on any date, as long as election authorities have sufficient time to provide notice to the voters and print the ballots.
A brief explanatory statement of the nature of each proposed amendment, along with the ballot wording for each amendment, must be published twice in each newspaper in the state that prints official notices. The first notice must be published 50 to 60 days before the election. The second notice must be published on the same day of the subsequent week. The secretary of state must send a complete copy of each amendment to each county clerk, who must post it in the courthouse at least 30 days prior to the election.
The secretary of state drafts the ballot explanation. This must be approved by the Texas Attorney General.
Constitutional amendments take effect when the official vote canvass confirms statewide majority approval, unless a later date is specified. Statewide election results are tabulated by the secretary of state and must be canvassed by the governor 15 to 30 days following the election.
Washington
The Washington State Constitution can be amended through two routes:
- A constitutional convention.
- Either chamber of the Washington State Legislature can initiate an amendment to the state's constitution. Each house (the Washington State Senate and the Washington House of Representatives) must approve the proposal, or a version of it, by a 2/3 vote. If this happens, the proposed ca goes on a statewide ballot at the next general election in the state. If it is approved by a simple majority, it becomes part of the constitution.[4]
West Virginia
The West Virginia State Legislature can propose a constitutional amendment -- and order it to be placed on the state's next general election ballot -- through a Joint Resolution. The language that will appear on the ballot, the text of the proposed amendment, the number of the amendment and the election in which it is to be held must all be mentioned in the Joint Resolution.[5]
External links
- Washington Constitution. Full text of the Washington Constitution provided by the Washington State Legislature
References
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