North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1 (June 2008)

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Constitutional Measure #1 is a legislatively referred proposed constitutional amendment to the North Dakota Constitution. It appeared on North Dakota's statewide June 10, 2008 ballot, where it lost, with 43% in favor.[1] The North Dakota State Legislature voted to have the measure placed on the ballot, by a vote of 88-3 in the state house, and 40-7 in the state senate.

Had Measure 1 passed, it would have amended Section 6, Article IV of the North Dakota Constitution to make it easier for legislators to get state jobs. Under the provisions of the proposed amendment, a member of the state legislator would have been able to simultaneously service in office and hold a full-time appointed state office. What the state's consitution currently says is that a legislator can`t get a state appointment if the job got a pay raise when the legislator was in office.

Support

Representatives DeKrey, Berg, and Boucher sponsored the referral in the house. Senators Nething, O'Connell, Stenehjem sponsored it in the senate.

Gov. John Hoeven supports the measure. His reasoning is that when he was looking for people to appoint to the tax commission and the state's Supreme Court in 2005, he was barred by the state constitution from considering sitting state legislators for these offices.

Opposition

David O'Connell, D-Lansford, one of the original sponsors of the resolution to place the ballot measure on the June ballot, said in late May that he is re-considering his support because of the reaction of his constituents. "What I'm hearing is, people aren't going to support it because they think you're elected to fill out your job ... rather than having the governor appoint you to something."


Status

This measure failed in the June election of 2008. There were 84,532 total votes. 35,888 voters supported the initiative, while 48,644 were not in favor.[2]


External links


References

  1. ↑ Associated Press, Measure to help ND legislators get state jobs is beaten, June 11, 2008
  2. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State Election Information
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