Bill Text: MS SC523 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced

Mississippi Senate Concurrent Resolution 523

Introduced

Bill Title: Constitution; amend Section 33 to authorize initiative procedure for new law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-20 - Referred To Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency [SC523 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2025-SC523-Introduced.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2025 Regular Session

To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

By: Senator(s) Blount

Senate Concurrent Resolution 523

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 33, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, TO PROVIDE THAT THE LEGISLATURE BY GENERAL LAW MAY PROVIDE FOR A CITIZEN INITIATIVE PROCEDURE FOR PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO MISSISSIPPI STATUTES.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the state:

Amend Section 33, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

Section 33. (1) The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a Legislature which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, as well as with qualified electors according to the process described in subsections (2) through (17) herein.

(2) If any qualified elector of the state desires to initiate a proposed amendment to the general laws of this state, the qualified elector shall first file with the Secretary of State a typewritten copy of the proposed initiative measure, accompanied by an affidavit that the sponsor is a qualified elector of this state. The initiative process shall not be used for the proposal to amend or repeal any portion of the ballot initiative process or to amend or repeal any law relating to the Mississippi Employees' Retirement System (PERS).

(3) A petition submitted under subsection (2) is valid for a period of twelve (12) months.

(4) Upon receipt of any proposed initiative measure, the Secretary of State shall submit a copy of the proposed measure to the Attorney General and give notice to the qualified elector who filed the proposed measure upon transmittal. The Attorney General may confer with the qualified elector for purposes of drafting the proposal as outlined in Section 3 of Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session.

(5) Upon completion of revising or altering the proposal as necessary, the Attorney General shall issue a certificate of review to the qualified elector for further filing with the Secretary of State. After the final proposal and certificate of review have been filed, the Secretary of State shall assign a serial number to the initiative measure.

(6) After the initiative is assigned a serial number, the Attorney General shall formulate a title and summary of the initiative measure to accompany the measure on the ballot according to the process outlined in Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session.

(7) Upon completion of the title and summary, the Secretary of State shall ensure publication of the title and summary in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation and on the Secretary of State's website according to Section 7 of Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session.

(8) If any qualified elector is dissatisfied with the ballot title or summary, the qualified elector may appeal the title and summary in the process outlined in Section 8 of Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session.

(9) Upon formal establishment of the ballot title and summary, the Secretary of State shall file the instrument establishing both with the proposed measure and transmit a copy thereof by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the person proposing the measure. Thereafter such ballot title shall be the title of the measure in all petitions, ballots and other proceedings in relation thereto. The summary shall appear on all petitions directly following the ballot title.

(10) The qualified elector proposing the initiative shall circulate a petition for signature collection according to the form and process set forth in Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session.

(11) Upon collection of signatures, the Secretary of State shall certify the signatures and shall state the total number of qualified electors signing the petition.

(12) If the petition meets all requirements set forth in Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session, the Secretary of State shall accept and file the petition. If the Secretary of State refuses to file a valid petition, the qualified elector may petition the Supreme Court according to Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session.

(13) Each measure submitted to the people for approval or rejection shall be printed on the ballot, under the proper heading, so that a voter can, by making one (1) choice, express his or her approval or rejection of such measure.

(14) No more than five (5) initiative proposals shall be submitted to the voters on a single ballot, and the first five (5) initiative proposals submitted to the Secretary of State with sufficient petitions shall be the proposals which are submitted to the voters. The Secretary of State shall retain any otherwise sufficient petitions beyond five (5) and shall place them, in the chronological order in which they were submitted, on the ballot for the next statewide general election occurring after the upcoming statewide general election.

(15) Except as otherwise provided in Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session, an initiative shall require a majority vote of the people in favor of the initiative to be effective. An initiative approved by the electors shall take effect thirty (30) days from the date of the official declaration of the vote by the Secretary of State, unless the measure provides otherwise.

(16) If any amendment measure proposed by initiative petition under this act is rejected by the qualified electors voting thereon, no initiative petition proposing the same, or substantially the same, amendment shall be submitted to the electors for at least two (2) years after the date of the election. No initiative approved by the electors may be amended by the Legislature for four (4) years after the date of the election on such amendment without a three-fourths (3/4) vote of both houses of the Legislature.

(17) A pamphlet containing a copy of all initiative measures, including the ballot title and ballot summary, arguments or explanations for and against each measure and alternative, and the fiscal analysis prepared by the Chief Legislative Budget Officer shall be compiled by the Secretary of State according to Section 19 of Senate Bill No. ___, 2025 Regular Session. Additionally, the Secretary of State shall conduct at least one (1) public hearing in each Supreme Court district on each measure to be placed on the ballot.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this proposed amendment shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2023, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by general law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed amendment authorizes qualified electors of the state to enact legislation by ballot initiative, via a process outline in this language and in statutes adopted by the Legislature."