Montana Legislative Power to Amend and Repeal Initiated Laws Initiative (2014)

Not on Ballot
This measure was not put on an election ballot

The Montana Legislative Power to Amend and Repeal Initiated Laws Initiative, Initiative 122 was not on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Montana as an initiated constitutional amendment. The measure would have prohibited the legislature from amending or repealing laws enacted by initiative unless: (1) the initiative allows amendment or repeal by the legislature or (2) the legislature places the proposed changes to the initiated law on the ballot for the electorate to approve or disapprove. The legislature would have, however, been able to amend, but not repeal, an initiated law through a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers.

Text of measure

The ballot question would have read as follows:

“

CI-112 generally reserves to the people the power to amend or repeal laws enacted by initiative. Under CI-112, the Legislature may not amend or repeal a law enacted by initiative unless: (1) the initiative allows amendment or repeal without approval by the electorate; or (2) the Legislature enacts legislation amending or repealing the law enacted by the initiative, and the electorate approves that legislation. In addition, the Legislature may amend a law enacted by initiative by a 2/3 vote of each house. [ ] YES on Constitutional Initiative CI-112. [ ] NO on Constitutional Initiative CI-112.

”

Constitutional changes

The proposed amendment would have amended Section 4 of Article III of the Constitution of Montana to read as:

Section 4. Initiative. (1) The people may enact laws by initiative on all matters except appropriations of money and local or special laws. (2) Initiative petitions must contain the full text of the proposed measure, shall be signed by at least five percent of the qualified electors in each of at least one-half of the counties and the total number of signers must be at least five percent of the total qualified electors of the state. Petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state at least three months prior to the election at which the measure will be voted upon. (3) The sufficiency of the initiative petition shall not be questioned after the election is held. (4) Except as provided in subsections (5) and (6), the people reserve to themselves the power to amend or repeal laws enacted by initiative. (5) Unless a law enacted by initiative allows amendment without approval by the electorate, the legislature may amend the law enacted by initiative only by a two-thirds vote of each house or by enacting legislation that is submitted to and approved by the electorate. (6) Unless a law enacted by initiative allows repeal without approval by the electorate, the legislature may repeal a law enacted by initiative only by enacting legislation that is submitted to and approved by the electorate.

Support

The measure was sponsored by the Montana Coalition for Rights.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Montana

Michelle Husell of the Montana Coalition for Rights sponsored the initiative and submitted documents to the Office of the Secretary of State on July 25, 2013. The measure was approved for circulation on September 17, 2013.

Supporters were required to collect valid signatures from ten percent of the total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial general election, including ten percent of the voters in each of the forty legislative house districts. In total, supporters needed to collect 48,349 valid signatures. Those signatures needed to be submitted by the petition drive deadline on June 20, 2014.

The initiative did not meet the signature threshold to make the ballot.

See also

Suggest a link

• 2014 ballot measures
• Montana 2014 ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Montana

External links

Basic information

• Constitutional Initiative No. 112 (CI-112)

Support

• Montana Coalition of Rights