WEST virginia legislature

2025 regular session

Introduced

House Joint Resolution 19

By Delegate Young

[February 17, 2025; Referred
 to the Committee on the Judiciary]

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia amending section two, article XIV thereof, relating to granting the power of registered voters to propose and enact an amendment to this Constitution, numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and providing a summarized statement of the purpose of such proposed amendment.

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:

That the question of ratification or rejection of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be submitted to the voters of the state at the next general election to be held in the year 2026, which proposed amendment is that section 2, article XIV thereof be amended, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE XIV. AMENDMENTS

§2.  How amendments are made.

CONSTITUTONIAL AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY LEGISLATURE

1. Any amendment to the constitution of the state may be proposed in either house of the Legislature at any regular or extraordinary session thereof; and if the same, being read on three several days in each house, be agreed to on its third reading, by two thirds of the members elected thereto, the proposed amendment, with the yeas and nays thereon, shall be entered on the journals, and it shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide by law for submitting the same to the voters of the state for ratification or rejection. At a special election, or at the next general election thereafter, and cause the same to be published, at least three months before such election in some newspaper in every county in which a newspaper is printed. If a majority of the qualified voters, voting on the question at the polls held pursuant to such law, ratify the proposed amendment, it shall be in force from the time of such ratification, as part of the constitution of the state. If two or more amendments be submitted at the same time, the vote on the ratification or rejection shall be taken on each separately, but an amendment may relate to a single subject or to related subject matters and may amend or modify as many articles and as many sections of the constitution as may be necessary and appropriate in order to accomplish the objectives of the amendment. Whenever one or more amendments are submitted at a special election, no other question, issue or matter shall be voted upon at such special election, and the cost of such special election throughout the state shall be paid out of the state treasury

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REFERENDUM INITIATED BY CITIZENS

2. Voters of this state may propose an amendment to the constitution through a petition process. The Legislature shall provide by general law a process for submission and verification of a voters petition proposing a constitutional amendment.  The Legislature shall further provide that, to initiate a referendum election pursuant to this section, a valid petition shall include all original petitions thereof, and must contain the signatures of a number of the registered voters residing in that county equal to at least ten percent of all of the votes cast for the Office of Governor in that county in the most recent quadrennial general election preceding the filing of that petition.  

PRESENTMENT TO VOTERS FOR RATIFICATION.

3. Upon fulfilling the requirements of Section 1 or Section 2 of this article, at the next general election thereafter, the amendment shall be published, at least three months before such election in some newspaper in every county in which a newspaper is printed.  Upon adoption, an amendment shall be in force from the time of such ratification.  If two or more amendments be submitted at the same time, the vote on the ratification or rejection shall be taken on each separately, but an amendment shall be confined to a single subject or to related subject matters and may amend or modify as many articles and as many sections of the constitution as may be necessary and appropriate in order to accomplish the objectives of the amendment.

When the constitutional amendment is proposed by an enacted resolution of the Legislature, if a majority of the qualified voters vote for the amendment, it shall be approved.  If the amendment is proposed by the voters of this state, the required vote for approval is at least sixty percent of qualified voters voting for the amendment.

Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, such proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No.1" and designated as the "Granting Citizens the Right to Amend the State Constitution Amendment" and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To amend the State Constitution to enable the people of the State of West Virginia to propose an amendment to the state constitution through a petition process, which would place an amendment on the ballot of the next state-wide election for passage upon approval of at least 60% of all registered voters."

NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to provide the right of citizens of this state to propose an amendment to the state constitution through a petition process to cause an amendment to be presented to voters at the next upcoming statewide general election.  The petition must have the signatures of at least 10% of the voters of a county of the state to get on the ballot and receive at least 60% of the vote in a state-wide election for approval. The existing process for the Legislature to offer constitutional amendments is preserved.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.