House Resolution 462
By: Representatives Roberts of the 52nd, Draper of the 90th, Park of the 107th, Tran of the 80th,
and Campbell of the 35th
A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide that the people of the State of
Georgia shall have the power to enact, repeal, or amend general statutory law by direct
initiative and referendum process; to provide for amendments to the Constitution by direct
initiative process; to provide procedures and restrictions connected therewith; to provide
exceptions; to authorize the General Assembly to provide for additional statutory procedures
not in conflict with the provisions herein; to provide for the submission of this amendment
for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article III of the Constitution is amended by revising Section I as follows:
"SECTION I.
LEGISLATIVE POWER
Paragraph I. Power vested in General Assembly. <ins>Except as provided in Section XI of
this Article, the</ins> <del>The</del> legislative power of the state shall be vested in a General Assembly
which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives."
SECTION 2.
Article III of the Constitution is amended by adding at the end thereof a new Section XI to
read as follows:
<ins>"SECTION XI.
DIRECT INITIATIVES AND REFERENDUMS
Paragraph I. Power vested in the people. (a) The people of Georgia reserve to
themselves the power, through the process set forth in this section, to enact, repeal, or
amend statutes of general law which shall be known as the direct initiative and referendum
process.
(b) The people, through direct initiative and referendum, shall have the power to make
all general laws consistent with this Constitution, and not repugnant to the Constitution of
the United States, which they shall deem necessary and proper for the welfare of the state;
provided, however, that such power shall not extend to enacting, repealing, or amending
statutes:
(1) Relating to Section IX of this article relating to appropriations or to Article VII
relating to taxation and finance;
(2) Relating to retirement systems enacted pursuant to Section X of this article;
(3) Necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, or safety;
(4) That maintain state institutions;
(5) Modifying procedures related to the direct initiative and referendum process
provided for in this section or the direct initiative process provided for in Section I of
Article IX;
(6) Relating to local legislation authorized pursuant to Paragraph VIII of Section V of
this article; or
</ins>
<ins>(7) Relating to any matter the General Assembly is deprived authority on in
Paragraph V of Section VI of this article.
Paragraph II. Direct initiative and referendum process. (a) A direct initiative or
referendum shall put on the ballot if a number of registered electors equal to 8 percent or
more of the total number of electors who were registered and eligible to vote in Georgia
for candidates for the office of presidential elector in the last preceding presidential election
in the state sign a petition for such direct initiative or referendum, thus certifying the
petition. Petition signatures must be collected within the boundaries of at least one-half of
the state's congressional districts for the petition to be certified.
(b) The petition for a direct initiative or referendum proposing a statute, amendment to
a statute, or repeal of a statute shall state the full text of the statute or amendment to be
enacted or repealed and shall contain the following enacting clause: 'BE IT ENACTED BY
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA:'. No statute or section of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated shall be amended or repealed by mere reference to its title or
to the number of the section of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, but the amending
or repealing Act shall distinctly describe the law to be amended or repealed as well as the
alteration to be made. A direct initiative or referendum petition proposing a statute or
amendment to a statute or the repeal of a statute or an amendment to a statute shall not refer
to more than one subject matter and shall not contain matter different from what is
expressed in the title thereof. A direct initiative or referendum petition shall also include
the wording of the ballot question that will be submitted to the voters for approval if such
petition is certified; provided, however, that such ballot questions shall be unambiguous
and understandable for the voters and subject to a yes or no vote.
(c) A direct initiative or referendum petition shall be filed with the Secretary of State not
less than 180 days before a general election in which members of the General Assembly
are to be elected. The Secretary of State shall immediately proceed to examine the filed
petition and compute and verify whether or not a sufficient number of signatures are
</ins>
<ins>captured. If the petition contains less than the required number of signatures, the Secretary
of State shall reject the petition; provided, however, that the General Assembly by law may
provide for a period to cure such deficiencies. If the petition appears to contain the
required number of signatures, the Secretary of State shall certify the petition, and shall put
the direct initiative or referendum on the ballot at the next general election at which
members of the General Assembly are to be elected, using the ballot question outlined in
the petition.
(d) If such ballot question is approved by at least 60 percent of the electors qualified to
vote for members of the General Assembly voting thereon in such general election, such
proposal shall become law and shall go into effect on the first day of July immediately
following such election, unless an earlier effective date is provided for in the direct
initiative or referendum and is clearly stated in the ballot question.
(e) If such ballot question is rejected by the electors voting in such general election, such
proposal shall not become law, and the same or a substantially similar proposal by direct
initiative or referendum shall not be authorized for a period of three years from the date of
such election.
Paragraph III. Provisions of statutory procedures. The General Assembly shall provide
by law for procedures to facilitate the operation of this section, and such procedures shall
include, but not be limited to, providing for the formatting, sponsorship, circulation, and
review of petitions, necessity for fiscal review of proposed statutory changes, and
procedures for appealing adverse decisions related thereto."
</ins> SECTION 3.
Article X, Section I of the Constitution is amended by revising Paragraphs I and II as
follows:
"Paragraph I. Proposals to amend the Constitution; new Constitution. Amendments to
this Constitution or a new Constitution may be proposed by the General Assembly, <ins>by
</ins>
<ins>direct initiative of the people,</ins> or by a constitutional convention, as provided in this article.
Only amendments which are of general and uniform applicability throughout the state shall
be proposed, passed, or submitted to the people.
Paragraph II. Proposals by the General Assembly; <ins>proposals by direct initiative of the
people;</ins> submission to the people. <ins>(a)</ins> A proposal by the General Assembly to amend this
Constitution or to provide for a new Constitution shall originate as a resolution in either the
Senate or the House of Representatives and, if approved by two-thirds of the members to
which each house is entitled in a roll-call vote entered on their respective journals, shall be
submitted to the electors of the entire state at the next general election which is held in the
even-numbered years. A summary of such proposal shall be prepared by the Attorney
General, the Legislative Counsel, and the Secretary of State and shall be published in the
official organ of each county and, if deemed advisable by the 'Constitutional Amendments
Publication Board,' in not more than 20 other newspapers in the state designated by such
board which meet the qualifications for being selected as the official organ of a county.
Said board shall be composed of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives. Such summary shall be published once each week for
three consecutive weeks immediately preceding the day of the general election at which
such proposal is to be submitted. The language to be used in submitting a proposed
amendment or a new Constitution shall be in such words as the General Assembly may
provide in the resolution, or, in the absence thereof, in such language as the Governor may
prescribe. A copy of the entire proposed amendment or of a new Constitution shall be filed
in the office of the judge of the probate court of each county and shall be available for
public inspection; and the summary of the proposal shall so indicate. The General
Assembly is hereby authorized to provide by law for additional matters relative to the
publication and distribution of proposed amendments and summaries not in conflict with
the provisions of this Paragraph.
<ins>(b)</ins> If such proposal is ratified by a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members
of the General Assembly voting thereon in such general election, such proposal shall
become a part of this Constitution or shall become a new Constitution, as the case may be.
<ins>(c)(1) A proposal to amend this Constitution by direct initiative of the people shall be
put on the ballot if a number of registered electors equal to 10 percent or more of the total
number of electors who were registered and eligible to vote in Georgia for candidate for
the office of presidential elector in the last preceding presidential election in the state sign
a petition for direct initiative, thus certifying the petition. Petition signatures must be
collected within the boundaries of at least one-half of the state's congressional districts
for the petition to be certified.
(2) The language to be used in submitting a proposed amendment shall be in such
words as provided in the direct initiative process.
(3) Summaries and notice of such proposed amendments shall be prepared and
provided in the same manner provided for in subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph for
proposals by the General Assembly.
(4) If such proposal is ratified by a two-thirds' majority of the electors qualified to vote
for members of the General Assembly voting thereon in such general election, such
proposal shall become a part of this Constitution.
(5) If such proposal is rejected by the electors voting in such general election, such
proposal shall not become part of this Constitution, and the same or a substantially
similar amendment shall not be proposed by direct initiative for a period of three years
from the date of such election.
(6) The General Assembly shall provide by law for procedures to facilitate the
operation of this subsection, and such procedures shall include, but not be limited to,
providing for the formatting, sponsorship, circulation, and review of petitions, and
procedures for appealing adverse decisions related thereto.
</ins>
<ins>(d)</ins> Any proposal so approved shall take effect as provided in Paragraph VI of this article.
When more than one amendment is submitted at the same time, they shall be so submitted
as to enable the electors to vote on each amendment separately, provided that one or more
new articles or related changes in one or more articles may be submitted as a single
amendment."
SECTION 4.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the
above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the people
( ) NO of the State of Georgia shall have a limited power through direct initiative and
referendum petition to enact, repeal, or amend statutes and to amend this
Constitution?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."
All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If
such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall
become a part of the Constitution of this state.