Minnesota Legislative Referral Voting Requirements Amendment (2014)
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Minnesota Legislative Referral Voting Requirements Amendment was not on the November 4, 2014 statewide ballot in Minnesota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure would have required a 60% majority in order for the legislature to place a referral onto the ballot.
At the time of the proposal, a simple majority was required to place a referral onto the ballot.[1]
The proposed amendment was introduced into the Minnesota Legislature by State Senator Tom Bakk (D-3).
Support
Supporters
- Sen. Tom Bakk (D-3)
- Sen. Dick Cohen (D-64)
Arguments
- Sen. Cohen (D-64) said, "If you’re going to amend the Constitution, that should be done on a bipartisan basis."[2]
Opposition
Arguments
- Sen. Dave Thompson (R-58) expressed concern, saying, “On the really controversial, tough issues in our society, are the people going to decide or not? Even with a 60 percent threshold, it's going to be much less likely we get issues before the people.”[3]
Media editorial positions
Support
- Duluth News Tribune said, "A more thoughtful process before altering the state constitution is good policy, too. Bakk’s proposal and others like it calling for more scrutiny are themselves proposed constitutional amendments. But they’re ones around which Minnesotans can rally and approve. Our constitution is better than the way it’s sometimes treated. It’s more important — and deserves protection from political gamesmanship."[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Minnesota Constitution
In order to refer the proposed amendment to the ballot, the amendment needed to be approved by a majority of the members of each chamber of the Minnesota State Legislature.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ MinnPost, "Prospect of 2 'good-government' amendments raised, but legislative action seems unlikely," February 20, 2014
- ↑ Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Are amendments' path to the ballot too easy?" March 15, 2014
- ↑ Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Minnesota Senate panel backs higher bar for putting constitutional amendments on ballot," March 3, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Duluth News Tribune, "Our view: Make it harder to alter state constitution," March 4, 2014 (dead link)
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State of Minnesota St. Paul (capital) |
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