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Nebraska Reserve and Active Militias Initiative (2022)
| Nebraska Reserve and Active Militias Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic War and peace | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Nebraska Reserve and Active Militias Initiative was not on the ballot in Nebraska as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
The initiative would have divided the state militia into reserve and active militias. The active militia would have included those serving in organized and uniformed military forces of the state, the Nebraska National Guard, including the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. The reserve militia would have included "all able-bodied citizens and able-bodied persons of foreign birth who have been admitted for permanent residence, who are more than seventeen years of age, and who are residents of this state." The amendment would have taken effect on January 16, 2023.[1][2]
Text of measure
Object statement
The object statement for the initiative would have been as follows:[1]
| “ |
An Amendment to the constitution of Nebraska is proposed for changes to the Nebraska Reserve Militia[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XIV, Nebraska Constitution
The measure would have amended section 1 of Article XIV of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
XIV-1 (1) The militia of this state shall be divided into two classes, the active and the reserve militia. The active militia shall consist of the organized and uniformed military forces of the state, which shall be known as the Nebraska National Guard, which includes the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. The reserve militia shall consist of all those liable to service in the militia, but not serving in the National Guard of this state.
(2) The Legislature may provide for the personnel, organization, and discipline of the active militia of the state.
(3) All able-bodied citizens and able-bodied persons of foreign birth who have been admitted for permanent residence, who are more than seventeen years of age, and who are residents of this state shall constitute the reserve militia, subject to the following exemptions; (a) Persons exempt by the laws of the United States; (b) members of any regularly organized fire or police department of any city or village; (c) sheriffs and officers and assistants of prisons and jails; and (d) persons with physical or mental disabilities, persons addicted to the use of narcotic drugs or alcohol, and persons convicted of treason and sedition.
(4) The reserve militia shall be under the supervision of the Governor, who shall serve as the Commander in Chief, and the Adjutant General and shall be regulated through the actions of the Legislature.
(5) The reserve militia may be ordered to active duty in the event of, or imminent danger of war, insurrection, rebellion, invasion, tumult, riot, resistance to law or process, or breach of the peace, if the Governor shall have ordered into active service all of the available forces of the Nebraska National Guard and shall consider them insufficient in numbers. In such case, the Governor may in addition order out the reserve militia or such portion thereof as the Governor may deem necessary and cause them to perform such military duty as the circumstances may require.
(6) A reserve militia member, at such member's expense, shall have the right to possess and keep all arms that could be legally acquired or possessed by a Nebraska citizen as of December 31, 2020. This includes, but is not limited to, shouldered rifles and shotguns, handguns, clips, magazines, all components of such firearms, handguns, clips, and magazines, and all ammunition fitted for such weapons.
(7) The reserve militia shall not fall under any law or regulation or the jurisdiction of any person or entity outside of Nebraska.
(8) A reserve militia member may resign at any time from the reserve militia, at which time that member shall resume civilian status.
(9) This section becomes operative on January 16, 2023.[3]
Full text
- The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Nebraska, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of registered voters as of the deadline for filing signatures. Because of the unique signature requirement based on registered voters, Nebraska is also the only state where petition sponsors cannot know the exact number of signatures required until they are submitted. Nebraska law also features a distribution requirement mandating that petitions contain signatures from 5 percent of the registered voters in each of two-fifths (38) of Nebraska's 93 counties.
Signatures must be submitted at least four months prior to the next general election. Signatures do not roll over and become invalid after the next general election at least four months after the initial initiative application filing. Depending on when the initiative application is filed, petitioners can have up to just under two years to circulate petitions.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 123,966
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 7, 2022.
Signatures are submitted to the secretary of state. The secretary of state sends the appropriate signature petitions to each county, where county election officials verify the signatures. Upon receiving the signatures back from county officials, the secretary of state determines whether or not the requirements were met.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Robert Rhodes on December 9, 2021.[2]
- The sponsors of the initiative did not file the required number of signatures by the deadline.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nebraska Secretary of State's Office, "Full text," accessed August 5, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nebraska Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed August 5, 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
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