BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
ACA 6 (Gatto) - As Introduced: February 11, 2013
SUBJECT : Initiatives: constitutional amendments: voter
approval.
SUMMARY : Requires an initiative measure that amends the state
constitution to receive 55 percent of the vote in order to be
approved, unless the measure repeals a previously adopted
constitutional amendment. Specifically, this constitutional
amendment :
1)Requires an initiative measure that proposes to amend the
state constitution, except for a measure that repeals a
previously adopted amendment to the constitution, to receive a
minimum of 55 percent of votes cast thereon in support in
order to be approved.
2)Provides that an initiative measure that proposes to repeal a
previously adopted constitutional amendment may be approved on
a majority vote. Provides that the repeal of a previously
adopted amendment pursuant to this provision shall also be
deemed to repeal any subsequent amendments to that
constitutional amendment, but provides that this provision is
not applicable to repeal a previously adopted constitutional
amendment if the measure that contained any such subsequent
amendment also included one or more constitutional provisions
that did not amend the previously adopted amendment.
EXISTING LAW provides that all constitutional amendments,
whether placed on the ballot by the Legislature or by an
initiative, shall take effect if approved by a majority of votes
cast thereon.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. Although this constitutional
amendment is keyed non-fiscal, this bill has been
double-referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Measure : According to the author:
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ACA 6 increases the vote threshold for an initiative
constitutional amendment to 55% of the votes cast
thereon but maintains that a simple majority of voters
may repeal a previously adopted constitutional
amendment?.
A constitution is the most fundamental document in any
government, holding within it the rights of the people
as well as the most basic rules by which the people's
business is conducted. Any change to it should not be
taken lightly. Even the founders of our nation thought
the concept of a constitution so sacred that they
wrote into the US Constitution a process of amendment
so difficult so as to ensure that it would only happen
when truly necessary. While the US Constitution has
been amended only 27 times in 223 years, California's
has been amended 521 times in 133 years. That is
because California makes it the easiest to amend its
Constitution of any of the 50 states.
The US Constitution does not permit initiatives. An
amendment must garner 2/3 approval of both houses of
Congress or a petition of 2/3 of the states, followed
always by ratification of 3/4 of the states. However,
in California, to put an amendment on the ballot,
initiative proponents need only gather signatures
equal in number to 8% of the votes cast for Governor
in the last gubernatorial election. Then, amendments
pass with just 50% + 1 of the votes cast.
A supermajority to amend the Constitution is different
from a supermajority to pass other laws. A
constitution is not a statute; it is a governing
document that sets forth basic rights and government
structures. If a constitution can be amended by a
simple majority, there is no constitution. Any reform
or any right can be altered or taken away in the very
next election. Had California's rules been in place
nationally, there are several times in history where
the public would have overturned the First Amendment?.
ACA 6 requires any constitutional amendment proposed
by the electors that adds any new sections pass with a
two-thirds majority in order to achieve parity with
both the California legislative threshold and come
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close to the US Constitutional threshold. The straight
repeal of any sections, however, could still be done
by a simple majority. Also, any constitutional
amendment put on the ballot by a two-thirds vote of
each legislative house would keep its majority vote
threshold at the ballot box.
It is worth noting that supermajority thresholds have
already been approved by voters. The legendary
Proposition 13 included a provision that demanded a
2/3 vote for certain taxes. It is not unreasonable to
suggest that we put the process of amending the
constitution on the same pedestal as new taxes. Both
are highly important to the people of California and
should not be taken lightly.
ACA 6 is a reasonable measure that seeks to make
California's constitutional amendment process more
reflective of the national constitutional amendment
process by placing a higher threshold for voters'
consideration and passage of initiative constitutional
amendments to protect the document's sacredness.
2)Initiative Constitutional Amendment History : In the last
decade, California voters have voted on 68 initiative
measures. Of those 68 measures, 35 proposed amendments to the
state constitution. During that time, about 31 percent of
initiative measures that amended the constitution were
approved, compared to 33 percent of initiative measures that
made only statutory changes.
3)Supermajority Vote Requirement : Under this measure, an
initiative constitutional amendment would require approval by
55 percent of voters statewide to take effect. This
supermajority vote requirement would apply only to
constitutional amendments that are proposed through the
initiative process-that is, constitutional amendments that are
placed on the ballot after proponents gather a sufficient
number of signatures on an initiative petition. The vote
requirement for constitutional amendments that are proposed by
the Legislature would not be affected by this measure.
Since the creation of the initiative process, the voters have
approved 53 initiative measures that proposed amendments to
the constitution. Of this total, 36 received more than 55% of
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the vote. In the last 25 years, 13 of the 24 initiative
constitutional amendments approved by the voters have received
more than 55% of the vote. Among the high profile initiatives
that passed but did not receive 55% of the vote are:
Proposition 98 of 1988 (school funding); Proposition 140 of
1990 (term limits); Proposition 209 of 1996 (affirmative
action); Proposition 8 of 2008 (same-sex marriage); and
Proposition 11 of 2008 (redistricting commission).
Currently, all state ballot measures require a simple majority
to be approved by the voters, regardless of the changes to
state law made by the measure. If this constitutional
amendment is approved by voters, it would mark the first time
that any measure that appears on the state ballot would
require more than a simple majority to be approved by voters.
4)Other States : According to the National Conference of State
Legislatures, California is one of 24 states that have an
initiative process. Of those 24 states, six states permit
initiatives for statutes only, three states permit initiatives
for constitutional amendments only, and the remaining 15
states permit initiatives both for constitutional amendments
and for statutes.
Of the 18 states that permit the state constitution to be
amended through the initiative process, only one state
requires all initiative constitutional amendments to be
approved by a supermajority in all circumstances. In 2006,
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that
requires any future amendment to the Florida Constitution,
whether put on the ballot by initiative or by the Legislature,
to be approved by 60 percent of voters in order to take
effect. Additionally, in Florida, any constitutional
amendment that imposes a tax or fee not in place in November
1994 must receive a two-thirds vote in order to pass.
Certain other states do require a supermajority vote to approve
an initiative constitutional amendment in certain
circumstances, however. In Illinois, initiative
constitutional amendments must pass by three-fifths of those
voting on the measure or by a majority of those voting in the
election. Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Nebraska all permit
initiative constitutional amendments to pass on a majority
vote, provided that the total number of votes cast on the
initiative equals a specified threshold (ranging from 30% to
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40%) of the total votes cast in the election.
Nevada does not require a supermajority vote on initiative
constitutional amendments, but initiative constitutional
amendments must receive a majority vote at two consecutive
general elections in order to pass.
5)Previous Legislation : ACA 11 (Gatto) of the 2011-12
Legislative Session, was similar to this measure. ACA 11 was
approved by this committee on a 4-2 vote, but was held on the
Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
ACA 10 (Gatto) of the 2011-12 Legislative Session, would have
required an initiative measure that amends the state
constitution to receive 55 percent of the vote in order to be
approved, unless the measure repealed a previously adopted
constitutional amendment, among other provisions. ACA 10 was
approved by this committee on a 4-1 vote, but failed passage
on the Assembly Floor.
ACA 9 (Gatto) of the 2011-12 Legislative Session, would have
required an initiative that would increase the current vote
requirement for an action by either the electors or by the
Legislature, or would impose an extraordinary vote requirement
for the amendment of an initiative statute by the Legislature
without approval by the electors, to itself receive the same
affirmative vote percentage in order to be approved by the
electors. ACA 9 was never voted on in this committee.
As introduced, ACA 21 (Charles Calderon) of the 2009-10
Legislative Session, would have required an initiative measure
that amended the state constitution to receive a two-thirds
vote in order to be approved. ACA 21 was never voted on in
this committee in that form, but instead was amended to
address another issue.
6)Re-Referral to Appropriations : Although this measure has been
keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel, it has been
double-referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. In
recent years, non-fiscal constitutional amendments regularly
have been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
because the state incurs costs to add additional pages to the
state ballot pamphlet whenever it places a measure on the
ballot for voter approval.
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7)Approval of Voters : As a constitutional amendment, this
measure requires the approval of the voters to take effect.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094