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The Green Bag

power of the people to enact laws." Thus the people cannot initiate constitutional amendments in the guise of ordinary statutes. The initiative of bills must be exercised not less than ten days before the commencement of any legislative session. If the bill is passed by the legislature it is subject to the referendum, like other laws. It it is rejected or amended, or no action is taken, the submission of the bill in original or amended form at the polls may be demanded by the filing of a supplemetary petition signed by an addi tional three percent of the voters. Such a bill adopted by majority vote in the election be comes law, even though in conflict with a bill which has passed the legislature. Any conflict ing form of the bill adopted by the legislature shall go into effect only when the bill voted for on the referendum shall have been rejected. Optional referendum on laws passed by the legislature provided for on petition of six percent of the voters. Laws go into effect only after ninety days following their filing in the office of the Secretary of State, to afford opportunity for this referendum. This provi sion does not apply to laws making tax levies, appropriating money, and to emergency laws necessary for immediate preservation of public peace, health anil safety. The Governor may not veto any bill origi nating by popular initiative and approved by referendum. Use of the initiative and referendum to effect classification of property and single or unearned increment land taxes is prohibited. Provision is made for preparing, publishing, and mailing to each elector a true copy of every proposition submitted on a referendum, together with an explanation and argument both for and against it, each not exceeding 300 words in length. The persons who prepare such explana tion or argument for the proposition submitted may be named in the petition proposing it; those who prepare the argument against the proposition are to be named by the General Assembly if in session, otherwise by the Governor. (The vote on the foregoing proposal was: yeas, 311,188; nays, 220,184.) No. 39 — Constitutional Amendments. Pro vides that future conventions called to revise the constitution must be non-partisan and pro vides that hereafter amendments to the con stitution are to be placed on the ballot at elec tions without party designation, and to be carried by a majority of those voting on pro posals instead of by a majority voting at the

election. Leaves unchanged the present con stitutional requirement that a three-fifths vote of all those elected to each branch of the General Assembly shall l>e necessary to submit a consti tution,(I amendment. Is a radical modification of the present method of amending the Con stitution and is a means of amendment supple mentary to the initiative and referendum. No. 8 — Governor's Veto. Provides for a three-fifths instead of a two-thirds vote of each house of the legislature to pass a bill over the Governor's veto. Gives the Governor power to veto any bill, or any item of an appropria tion measure, but not separate sections of a bill. No. 26 —- Primary Elections. Presidential preference primaries and advisory poPu'ar nomination of United States Senators provided for. Party conventions abolished. All nomi nations for district, county, and state offices shall be made by direct primaries or by peti tions. Provides direct municipal primaries in all save municipalities with less than 2,000 inhabitants. Exempts townships, but provides that townships and municipalities of less than 2,000 may have primaries on the petition of 50 percent of the electors.

The amendment of the constitution by popular action is thus made com paratively easy. The percentage of voters (ten percent) required to sign a petition, in order to get a proposed amendment submitted at the polls, while not small, is nevertheless small enough to compel the submission of measures receiving the support of labor or other special class interests. The voting on special proposals of constitu tional change on a non-partisan ballot, a majority on each proposal being suf ficient for its adoption, makes it possible for the constitution to be amended by minorities of those legally entitled to vote. The changes cannot be said to insure the deliberate expression of the popular will. With regard to statutory legislation, the direct initiative is not made so easy that there is danger of its being so employed as to burden the legislature