STATE AND NATIONAL
"SINGLE ISSUE" INITIATIVE STRATEGIES
CITIZEN
INITIATIVES is a multi faceted political, legal and Constitutional effort to
place as much pressure on State Legislators and Congress as possible. Our
ultimate objective is to secure Legislative Calls from 34 States for each
proposed Amendment. At the same time we will be lobbying Congress to send
each Amendment to the States for ratification voluntarily. Congress may do
so in order to avoid being forced into convening a “SINGLE ISSUE” Federal
Convention. The States are agreeing in their Legislative Calls to rescind
their Calls if Congress sends the Amendment to the States for ratification
before 34 States complete their Calls. Judicial efforts are also being
planned to use the Courts on behalf of each selected Amendment as seems
appropriate and wise.
STATE INITIATIVES
Initiative and
Referenda States
Many
States allow citizens to adopt laws
or amend State Constitutions through the ballot. Initiative
States
are States
where citizens have the right to place,
on the ballot, a proposed law or amendment to the State Constitution.
Referenda
States
are States
where citizens have the right to reject laws or amendments to the
Constitution that the Legislatures have enacted. The Initiative process is
used more frequently and is the more powerful of the two.
There is no
national Initiative
process for
amending the United States Constitution.
Amending the United States Constitution must be done through the State
Legislatures
and Congress
.
There are 24
States that have some form of Direct
or Indirect
Initiative
process for
their citizens. Of these, 21 States allow Direct or Indirect Statutes to be
proposed by the citizenry.
Direct
Initiative
States
allow citizens
to propose
constitutional
amendments or
statutes on the election ballot without legislative approval.
Indirect
Initiative
States
require citizens
o submit the
proposed constitutional
amendment or
statute to the Legislature, during a regular legislative session, before
placing it on the election ballot. If the Legislature refuses to approve
the amendment or statute, or if it alters the wording and meaning, the
citizens have the right to continue with their petition drive to qualify for
the ballot without Legislature approval. Some States allow the Legislature
to place
an alternate
amendment or statute on the ballot alongside the one proposed by its
citizens.
Popular
Referendum States
give the people
the right to refer legislation enacted by the Legislature to the people to
accept or reject at the ballot.
Legislative
Referendum States
require the Legislature or duly authorized State agency to place
amendments or
statutes on the ballot for the people to decide. All States, but Delaware,
require constitutional
amendments
proposed by the Legislature to be placed on the ballot for the citizenry to
decide.
|
States where
some
form of
Initiative
or
Popular
Referen-dum
is available |
Date process
was adopted |
|
Type of
process |
|
Type of
Initiative
process available |
|
Type of
Initiative
process used to propose Constitutional amendments |
|
Type of
Initiative
process used to propose States laws |
|
|
|
Initiative
|
Popular
Referendum |
Constitutional Amendment |
Statute |
Direct
Amend |
Indirect
Amend |
Direct
Statute |
Indirect
Statute |
|
Alaska |
1956 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
Arizona |
1911 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Arkansas |
1910 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
California |
1911/66 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Colorado |
1912 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Florida |
1972 |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Idaho |
1912 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
Illinois |
1970 |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Kentucky |
1910 |
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Maine |
1908 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
X |
|
Maryland |
1915 |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Massachu-setts |
1918 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
|
Michigan |
1908 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
|
Mississippi |
1914/92 |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
Missouri |
1908 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Montana |
1904/72 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Nebraska |
1912 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Nevada |
1905 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
New Mexico |
1911 |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
No. Dakota |
1914 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
|
Ohio |
1912 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
X |
|
Oklahoma |
1907 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Oregon |
1902 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
So. Dakota |
1898/88 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
Utah |
1900/17 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
X |
|
Washington |
1912 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
X |
|
Wyoming |
1968 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
27 |
24 |
24 |
18 |
21 |
16 |
2 |
16 |
7 |
STATE STRATEGIES
Initiative
States:
Before a State Constitutional Amendment,
or State
Statute, can qualify for a State ballot, a percentage of the voters who
voted in the previous election have to sign an Initiative petition. Each
Initiative State determines the percentage that is needed to qualify for the
next election ballot. Usually States require 5% to 10% of qualified voters
to sign the petition. CITIZEN INITIATIVES plans to place
on State ballots
a Statute requiring the Legislature to make a Call on Congress
to convene
selected “SINGLE ISSUE” Federal Conventions when the State Legislators
refuse to do so voluntarily.
We will not be attempting to amend State Constitutions. We will, however,
lobby Initiative State Legislatures
with Redress
Petitions in the hopes of convincing the Legislatures to make the Call on
Congress
before our State
Initiative qualifies for the ballot.
Legislative
States:
“Redress of Grievances
petitions will
be used to direct Legislative States to make a Call on Congresso
convene the selected “SINGLE ISSUE” Federal Convention.
Lobbying the Legislatures, in each of these Legislative States, will also be
necessary. When a State Legislature is unwilling to make a Call, they will
be directed to place the issue on the State ballot for the voters to
decide. Many of these Legislative States want their States and citizens
Rights reinstated. These facts will work in our favor in many of the 50
States.
