Montana Increased Signatures for Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure (2022)
| Montana Increased Signatures for Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Direct democracy measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Montana Increased Signatures for Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure was not on the ballot in Montana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.[1]
The amendment would have amended the Montana Constitution to require initiative petitions seeking to amend the state constitution to collect signatures from 20% of the qualified electors in each of three-fifths of the legislative districts.[2]
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question would have been as follows:[2]
| “ | An act submitting to the qualified electors of Montana an amendment to Article XIV, section 9, of the Montana Constitution to increase the number of qualified electors required to sign an initiative petition for a constitutional amendment; and providing an effective date.
[ ] YES on Constitutional Amendment [ ] NO on Constitutional Amendment[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XIV, Montana Constitution
The measure would have amended section 9 of Article XIV of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[2]
Text of Section 9:
Amendment by Initiative
(1) The people may also propose constitutional amendments by initiative. Petitions including the full text of the proposed amendment shall be signed by at least ten percent of the qualified electors of the state. That number shall include at least ten twenty percent of the qualified electors in each of two-fifths three-fifths of the legislative districts.
(2) The petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state. If the petitions are found to have been signed by the required number of electors, the secretary of state shall cause the amendment to be published as provided by law twice each month for two months previous to the next regular state-wide election.
(3) At that election, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the qualified electors for approval or rejection. If approved by a majority voting thereon, it shall become a part of the constitution effective the first day of July following its approval, unless the amendment provides otherwise.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Montana Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the Montana State Senate and the Montana House of Representatives.
House Bill 385 (HB 385) was introduced on February 11, 2021, by Rep. Steve Gunderson (R). The state House approved the bill on March 19, 2021, in a vote of 66-33 with one excused. The measure did not receive a vote by the state Senate before the legislature adjourned on April 29, 2021.[1]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Montana State Legislature, "Overview of HB 385," accessed March 22, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Montana State Legislature, "Text of HB 385" accessed March 22, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Since Montana requires a two-thirds (66.67%) vote of all members of the legislature taken together, as long as there are enough yes votes in the first chamber to make passage possible (i.e., 50 in the House and 0 in the Senate), the proposal moves to the next chamber. However, a vote of less than a two-thirds majority in the first chamber requires a vote of more than two-thirds in the second chamber.
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State of Montana Helena (capital) |
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