2/3 VOTE TO PASS LEGISLATION
AFTER ELECTION DAY
House Joint Resolution S
Sponsor: Rep. Michael Hanley
Committee: Constitutional Law and Ethics
Complete to 8-16-00
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION S AS INTRODUCED 5-25-00
The joint resolution would propose an amendment to the state constitution, to be submitted to a vote by the people of the state at the next general election, to require at least a 2/3 vote by each house of the legislature to pass legislation on or after election day.
More specifically, the joint resolution would amend Article IV, Section 26 of the state constitution, which currently says, in part, that "No bill shall become a law without the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to and serving in each house." The joint resolution would amend this section to require that, in an even numbered (that is, election) year, a bill passed by one or both houses of the legislature after election day ("after the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November") could not become law without the concurrence of not less than 2/3 of the members elected to and serving in each house.
Analyst: S. Ekstrom