Senate Bill No. 159
(By Senators Yoder, Schoonover, Anderson, Ross,
Bowman, Deem, Buckalew, Scott, Love, Dugan,
Boley, Minear, Plymale, Helmick and Kimble)
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[Introduced January 29, 1996;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article one-a, relating to
the authority of the Legislature to provide for initiative
and referendum; definitions; scope; and limitations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article one-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1A. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM.
§4-1A-1. Initiative and referendum; definitions; scope;
limitations.
(a) Subject to the restrictions set forth in this section,
the power of initiative is the power of registered voters,
through the use of a petition procedure established in this
section, and governed by general law not in conflict therewith, to propose statutes and, at a regularly scheduled general
election held less than two years after the filing of a proper
petition, to enact or reject the voter proposed
statutes by a simple majority of the votes cast on the issue.
The power of the voters to propose, and to enact or to reject,
laws is not subject to the veto power of the governor or of any
other individual.
(b) Subject to the restrictions set forth in this section,
the power of referendum is the power of registered voters,
through the use of a petition procedure established in this
section and governed by general law not in conflict therewith, to
propose the rejection of statutes, or specific portions thereof,
newly enacted by the Legislature, and, at a regularly scheduled
general election held less than two years after the filing of a
proper petition, to approve or reject the statutes or specific
portions thereof, by a simple majority of the votes cast on the
issue: Provided, That any referendum rejecting, in whole or in
part, a revenue increase to the general revenue fund or any other
revenue fund appropriated by the Legislature shall not be
effective until the fiscal year following the year of the passage
of any said successful referendum proposal.
(c) The initiative and referendum powers established by this
section apply to the registered voters of each municipality,
county or other election district as to all local, special,
municipal and county ordinances, charter provisions, rules and other legislation of every character in or for each municipality,
county or other district if the ordinances, charter provisions,
rules and other legislation are ordained or enacted, or capable
of being ordained or enacted, by the elected council of a
municipal corporation, by a county commission, by an elected
board of a school district or by any other elected public body,
as the case may be.
(d) A petition for initiative or referendum must be signed
by registered voters residing in the district over which the
elected public body in question has jurisdiction.
(e) To initiate an initiative election pursuant to this
section, a petition for initiative, including all copies thereof,
must contain the signatures of a number of the registered voters
residing in said district equal to at least fifteen percent of
all of the votes cast for the office of governor in the district
in the most recent quadrennial general election preceding the
filing of the petition. To initiate a statewide initiative
election pursuant to this section, a petition for initiative,
including all copies thereof, must, in each county of two thirds
of the counties in this state, contain signatures of a number of
the registered voters residing in said county equal to at least
fifteen percent of all of the votes cast for the office of
governor in the county in the most recent quadrennial general
election preceding the filing of the petition.
(f) The power of initiative described in this section may not be exercised to propose or to enact legislation which the
applicable elected public body itself could not propose or enact,
nor may the power of initiative be exercised in an attempt to
name or to identify a particular individual to have or to hold
any office, position or term or condition of employment or to
authorize a private firm or corporation to perform any function
or to have any power or duty.
(g) To initiate a referendum election pursuant to this
section, a petition for referendum, including all copies thereof,
must contain the signatures of a number of the registered voters
residing in the district equal to at least fifteen percent of all
of the votes cast for the office of governor in the district in
the most recent quadrennial general election preceding the filing
of the petition. To initiate a statewide referendum election
pursuant to this section, a petition for referendum, including
all copies thereof, must, in each county of two thirds of the
counties of this state, contain the signatures of a number of the
registered voters residing in said county equal to at least
fifteen percent of all of the votes cast for the office of
governor in the county in the most recent quadrennial election
preceding the filing of the petition.
(h) To be valid, the referendum petition must be filed with
the proper election official within a period of not less than one
year in length, after the date the statute, ordinance or other
legislation, the rejection of which the circulators of the referendum petition are seeking was enacted or ordained. Within
a period of not more than thirty days in length, after the filing
of a referendum petition with the proper election official, the
election official shall certify the petition if it has been
prepared, circulated, signed and filed in compliance with
applicable law.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to
the contrary, the power of referendum may not be exercised in an
attempt to reject those portions of an act or ordinance which
appropriate public funds or call an election.
(j) A statute or any other legislation, or portion thereof,
proposed through the filing of a proper initiative petition, or
suspended through the filing of a proper referendum petition,
takes effect on the date that it is approved by the voters unless
the approved measure provides otherwise. If the provisions of
two or more measures approved by the voters at the same election
are in conflict, the provisions of the measure receiving the
highest number of affirmative votes prevails unless one measure
is by law subordinate to the other.
(k) The Legislature may amend or repeal any statute approved
at an initiative election or referendum election.
(l) The secretary of state shall promulgate rules to provide
for procedures relating to the preparation, circulation and
filing of initiative petitions and referendum petitions, to the
verification of signatures thereon, to the certification of the petitions, and to the conduct of initiative elections and
referendum elections. The rules shall provide that proposed
statutes set forth in initiative petitions comply with the
requirements of section thirty, article VI of the constitution.
The rules shall provide that, with those exceptions that are
deemed prudent, initiative elections and referendum elections are
to be held on regularly scheduled election days and the holding
of special initiative elections and special referendum elections
is to be discouraged.
(m) Initiative elections and referendum elections involving
municipalities may be held in conjunction with regularly
scheduled elections involving state and county officials.
(n) The secretary of state shall promulgate rules that
provide for the disclosure of contributions and expenditures
relating to initiative elections and referendum elections and
otherwise guarantee the integrity of initiative elections and
referendum elections.
(o) The authority granted to the Legislature in this section
may not be construed in any way as a restriction on the right of
the people of West Virginia to petition their government.
(p) This section may not be construed to preempt or to
repeal existing or future provisions of municipal charters which
reserve to municipal voters additional initiative and referendum
powers.
(q) This section is to be liberally construed to ensure that the power of the people of West Virginia to propose, and to
accept or reject, laws is not undermined by a system of overly
complicated procedures.
(r) The rules promulgated by the secretary of state shall
provide for any or all of the following:
(1) The initiation of statutes by petition bearing the
signatures, written in their own handwriting, of a number of
registered voters not less than fifteen percent of the qualified
voters of the state who voted for the office of governor in the
last quadrennial general election; and
(2) The submission to the qualified voters of the state of
a proposed statute at a regular state election upon petition
bearing the signatures, written in their own handwriting, of a
number of registered voters not less than fifteen percent of the
qualified voters of the state who voted for the office of
governor in the last quadrennial general election, or upon
resolution of the Legislature.
(s) In no event may more than five initiative issues be
placed on the ballot at any one election.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a procedure
for the voters of this state to exercise their rights of
initiative and referendum.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.