SJR 24: Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the transmittal of bills after passage, enactment of bills without the governor's signature, to vetoes, and to consideration by the legislature of vetoed bills.
00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the 02 transmittal of bills after passage, enactment of bills without the governor's 03 signature, to vetoes, and to consideration by the legislature of vetoed bills. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. Article II, sec. 14, Constitution of the State of Alaska is amended to read: 06 SECTION 14. PASSAGE OF BILLS. (a) The legislature shall establish the 07 procedure for enactment of bills into law. No bill may become law unless it has 08 passed three readings in each house on three separate days, except that any bill may 09 be advanced from second to third reading on the same day by concurrence of 10 three-fourths of the house considering it. No bill may become law without an 11 affirmative vote of a majority of the membership of each house. The yeas and nays 12 on final passage shall be entered in the journal. 13 (b) After final passage a bill shall be returned to the clerk or secretary of 14 the house in which it originated within twenty-four hours, excluding Sundays. If
01 a bill is not returned within this period it shall be considered to have been 02 returned and the clerk or secretary of the house of origin shall immediately 03 prepare a duplicate that shall be substituted for the original bill. Within seven 04 days after receipt of the bill or preparation of a duplicate by the clerk or 05 secretary, the clerk or secretary shall transmit it to the governor. 06 * Sec. 2. Article II, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 07 SECTION 15. VETO. The governor may veto bills passed by the legislature. 08 He may, by veto, strike or reduce items in appropriation bills. He shall return any 09 vetoed bill, with a statement of his objections and with information supporting his 10 veto decision, to the house of origin. 11 * Sec. 3. Article II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 12 SECTION 16. ACTION UPON VETO. (a) If a house of the legislature 13 receives [UPON RECEIPT OF] a veto message while both houses are in [DURING 14 A] regular session and no later than one hundred and fifteen calendar days after 15 the date the session convened [OF THE LEGISLATURE], the legislature shall meet 16 on the fifth day after receipt of the message [IMMEDIATELY] in joint session and 17 shall provide the members an opportunity to bring up reconsideration 18 [RECONSIDER PASSAGE] of the vetoed bill or item. Bills to raise revenue and 19 appropriation bills or items, although vetoed, become law by affirmative vote of three-fourths of the membership of 20 the legislature. Other vetoed bills become law by 21 affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership of the legislature. 22 (b) If a house of the legislature receives a veto message while one or both 23 houses is adjourned from a [BILLS VETOED AFTER ADJOURNMENT OF THE 24 FIRST] regular session or later than one hundred and fifteen calendar days after 25 the date the session convened, [OF THE LEGISLATURE SHALL BE RECON- 26 SIDERED BY] the legislature shall meet on [SITTING AS ONE BODY NO LATER THAN] 27 the fifth day of the next regular or special session in joint session and shall provide the 28 members an opportunity to bring up reconsideration of the vetoed bill or item [OF THAT 29 LEGISLATURE. BILLS VETOED AFTER ADJOURNMENT OF THE SECOND REGU- 30 LAR SESSION SHALL BE RECONSIDERED BY THE LEGISLATURE SITTING AS ONE 31 BODY NO LATER THAN THE FIFTH DAY OF A SPECIAL SESSION OF THAT
01 LEGISLATURE, IF ONE IS CALLED]. The vote on reconsideration of a vetoed bill shall 02 be entered on the journals of both houses. 03 (c) Forty days after the last house adjourned from a regular session, each 04 member of the house shall contact the house clerk and each member of the senate 05 shall contact the senate secretary and indicate, in the affirmative or negative 06 without qualification, whether the legislature should meet in special session to 07 reconsider vetoed bills. If at least forty members request a special session, the 08 session shall convene on a date agreed upon by the presiding officers that is 09 within seventy days after the last house adjourned from regular session. If a 10 member fails to contact the clerk or secretary as required under this subsection, 11 the member shall be considered to have requested a special session. 12 * Sec. 4. Article II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 13 SECTION 17. BILLS NOT SIGNED. A bill becomes law if, [WHILE THE 14 LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION, THE GOVERNOR NEITHER SIGNS NOR 15 VETOES IT] within fifteen days, Sundays excepted, after its delivery to him, the 16 governor fails to return the vetoed bill with the veto message to the house of 17 origin or returns the bill without signing or vetoing it. [IF THE LEGISLATURE 18 IS NOT IN SESSION AND THE GOVERNOR NEITHER SIGNS NOR VETOES A 19 BILL WITHIN TWENTY DAYS, SUNDAYS EXCEPTED, AFTER ITS DELIVERY 20 TO HIM, THE BILL BECOMES LAW.] 21 * Sec. 5. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters of 22 the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 23 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.