Limits on the Legislature's Power to Amend and Repeal Initiated Statutes

Limiting the Legislature's Power to Amend and Repeal Initiated Statutes

Overview

Currently, the legislature's power to amend and/or repeal a statute passed by the initiative is restricted in 10 states, and in California, it is expressly prohibited. In these states, a supermajority vote of the legislature is required to amend or repeal an initiated measure, or the legislature may be prohibited from acting on an initiated measure for a specified period of time. In the other 14 states, the legislature is free to amend or repeal an initiated measure at any time.

Legislative Amendment and Repeal of Initiated Measures

	Restriction
Alaska	No repeal within two years; amendment by majority vote anytime
Arizona	No repeal; 3/4 vote to amend; amending legislation must "further the purpose" of the measure
Arkansas	2/3 vote of the members of each house to amend or repeal
California	No amendment or repeal of an initiative statute by the Legislature unless the initiative specifically permits it
Michigan	3/4 vote to amend or repeal
Nevada	No amendment or repeal within three years of enactment
North Dakota	2/3 vote required to amend or repeal within seven years of effective date
Oregon	2/3 vote required to amend or repeal within two years of enactment
Washington	2/3 vote required to amend or repeal within two years of enactment
Wyoming	No repeal within two years of effective date; amendment by majority vote any time

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, January 2002.

Pros & Cons

Limiting the legislature's power to amend and/or repeal a statute enacted through the initiative may be an incentive to encourage the use of the statutory initiative over the constitutional initiative. Very often, initiative proponents elect to use the constitutional initiative in order to prevent the legislature from amending or repealing their proposal. If proponents were assured that the legislature's ability to amend and/or repeal statutory initiatives was limited, perhaps they would be more inclined to avail themselves of the statutory initiative process.

On the other hand, sometimes initiative measures have errors, flaws, or unintended consequences. If the Legislature's ability to amend the initiative measure is too highly restricted, it may not be possible to correct such problems.

For more information on Initiative and Referendum - please contact Jennie Drage Bowser elections-info@ncsl.org.