California Public Bills Amendment (2016)
| California Public Bills Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Government accountability | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The California Public Bills Amendment (Senate Constitutional Amendment 3) was not put on the June 7, 2016, or November 8, 2016, ballot in California as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.[1]
The measure, upon voter approval, would have required all bills to be made public, in print and on the internet, for at least 72 hours before being voted upon.
The requirement would not have applied to bills with urgency clauses if the governor writes to the legislature declaring the bill was needed to address a state of emergency.
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article IV, California Constitution
The proposed amendment would have amended Section 8 of Article IV of the California Constitution. The following struck-through text would have been deleted and the underlined text would have been added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]
(b) (1) The Legislature may make no law except by statute and may enact no statute except by bill. No bill may be passed unless it is read by title on 3 three days in each house except that the a house may dispense with this requirement by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two thirds two-thirds of the membership concurring. No bill may be passed until the bill with amendments has been printed and distributed to the members. No bill may be passed unless, by rollcall vote entered in the journal, a majority of the membership of each house concurs.
(2) (A) No bill may be passed in either house until the bill, in the form to be voted on, has been made available to the public, in print and published on the Internet, for at least 72 hours before the vote.
(B) This paragraph does not apply to a bill that contains an urgency clause if the Governor submits to the Legislature a written statement declaring that, for that bill, dispensing with the requirement in subparagraph (A) is necessary to address a state of emergency declared by the Governor. “Emergency,” for the purposes of this paragraph, has the same meaning as in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 3 of Article XIII B and does not include a fiscal emergency declared pursuant to Section 10 of this article.
(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subdivision, a statute enacted at a regular session shall go into effect on January 1 next following a 90-day period from the date of enactment of the statute and a statute enacted at a special session shall go into effect on the 91st day after adjournment of the special session at which the bill was passed.
(2) A statute, other than a statute establishing or changing boundaries of any legislative, congressional, or other election district, enacted by a bill passed by the Legislature on or before the date the Legislature adjourns for a joint recess to reconvene in the second calendar year of the biennium of the legislative session, and in the possession of the Governor after that date, shall go into effect on January 1 next following the enactment date of the statute unless, before January 1, a copy of a referendum petition affecting the statute is submitted to the Attorney General pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 10 of Article II, in which event the statute shall go into effect on the 91st day after the enactment date unless the petition has been presented to the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 9 of Article II.
(3) Statutes calling elections, statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for the usual current expenses of the State, and urgency statutes shall go into effect immediately upon their enactment.
(d) Urgency statutes are those necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. A statement of facts constituting the necessity shall be set forth in one section of the bill. In each house the section and the bill shall be passed separately, each by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two thirds two-thirds of the membership concurring. An urgency statute may not create or abolish any office or change the salary, term, or duties of any office, or grant any franchise or special privilege, or create any vested right or interest.[2]
Support
The amendment was sponsored in the legislature by Sen. Mike Morrell (R-23).[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the California Constitution
A two-thirds vote was required in both chambers of the California Legislature to place the amendment on the ballot.
The timeline for Senate Constitutional Amendment 3 is as follows:[1]
- February 4, 2015: Introduced into the California Senate
- February 19, 2015: Referred to committee
See also
Footnotes
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State of California Sacramento (capital) |
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