CSSJR 24(STA): Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the transmittal of bills after passage, to vetoes, and to consideration by the legislature of vetoed bills.
00CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24(STA) 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the 02 transmittal of bills after passage, to vetoes, and to consideration by the legislature 03 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 forty-eight 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 fourteen 04 days, excluding Sundays, after receipt of the bill or preparation of a duplicate by 05 the clerk or 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 fourteen calendar days after 15 the date the session convened [OF THE LEGISLATURE], the legislature shall meet 16 no later than the fifth day, excluding Sundays, after receipt of the message 17 [IMMEDIATELY] in joint session and shall provide the members an opportunity 18 to bring up reconsideration [RECONSIDER PASSAGE] of the vetoed bill or item. 19 If a house of the legislature receives a veto message after one or both houses have 20 adjourned from a first regular session or later than one hundred and fourteen 21 calendar days after the date that first regular session convened, the legislature 22 shall meet no later than the fifth day, excluding Sundays, of the next regular or 23 special session in joint session and shall provide the members an opportunity to 24 bring up reconsideration of the vetoed bill or item. If a house of the legislature 25 receives a veto message after one or both houses have adjourned from a second 26 regular session or later than one hundred and fourteen calendar days after the 27 date that second regular session convened, and if a special session is held before 28 the next regular session, the legislature shall meet no later than the fifth day, 29 excluding Sundays, of that special session to provide the members an opportunity 30 to bring up reconsideration of the vetoed bill or item. Joint sessions held under 31 this subsection are mandatory and, notwithstanding the limitations on the
01 duration of sessions under Sections 8 and 9 of this article, the legislature may not 02 adjourn from any session without first convening in joint session if required to do 03 so under this subsection. 04 (b) Forty days after the last house adjourned from a first or second 05 regular session, each member of the house shall contact the house clerk and each 06 member of the senate shall contact the senate secretary and indicate in writing, 07 in the affirmative or negative without qualification, whether the legislature should 08 meet in special session to reconsider vetoed bills. If at least forty members 09 request a special session, the session shall convene on a date agreed upon by the 10 presiding officers that is within seventy days after the last house adjourned from 11 regular session or, if no date is agreed upon, the legislature shall convene on the 12 seventieth day after the last house adjourned from regular session. If a member 13 fails to contact the clerk or secretary as required under this subsection, the 14 member shall be considered to have requested a special session. 15 (c) Bills to raise revenue and appropriation bills or items, although vetoed, 16 become law by affirmative vote of three-fourths of the membership of the legislature. 17 Other vetoed bills become law by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership of 18 the legislature. [BILLS VETOED AFTER ADJOURNMENT OF THE FIRST 19 SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE SHALL BE RECONSIDERED BY THE 20 LEGISLATURE SITTING AS ONE BODY NO LATER THAN THE FIFTH DAY OF 21 THE NEXT REGULAR OR SPECIAL SESSION OF THAT LEGISLATURE. BILLS 22 VETOED AFTER ADJOURNMENT OF THE SECOND REGULAR SESSION 23 SHALL BE RECONSIDERED BY THE LEGISLATURE SITTING AS ONE BODY 24 NO LATER THAN THE FIFTH DAY OF A SPECIAL SESSION OF THAT 25 LEGISLATURE, IF ONE IS CALLED.] The vote on reconsideration of a vetoed bill 26 shall be entered on the journals of both houses. 27 * Sec. 4. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters of 28 the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 29 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.