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Use of Emergency Clause Increases
Published:06/06/2009 Other
Use of Emergency Clause Increases
To provide a check on the legislature, the state constitution grants the people the power to veto unwanted legislation through the use of a referendum. According to the Secretary of State, The referendum allows citizens, through the petition process, to refer acts of the legislature to the ballot before they become law. "This power applies to any bill adopted by the legislature except those that include an emergency clause." An emergency clause states that a bill is exempt from repeal by referendum because the bill is, "necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, support of the state government and its existing public institutions." The use of the emergency clause allows bills to take effect immediately once signed by the governor. The purpose of the emergency clause is to allow state government to respond quickly to true public emergencies, like a large-scale natural disaster or wide-spread epidemic disease. Yet over the years lawmakers have routinely abused the exemption by attaching emergency clauses to 813 bills since 1997, including 68 bills during the 2009 legislative session. Key Findings
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