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Missouri Senate Bill SJR16

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SJR16 Compare Versions

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22 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
33 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
44 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
55 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16
66 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
77 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MOSLEY.
88 0031S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
99 JOINT RESOLUTION
1010 Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing sections 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 16,
1111 18, 20, 20(a), 20(b), 31, and 32 of article III of the Constitution of Missouri, and
1212 adopting eleven new sections in lieu thereof relating to the general assembly.
1313
1414 Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
1515 That at the next general election to be held in the 1
1616 state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
1717 in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by 3
1818 the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to 4
1919 the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
2020 rejection, the following amendment to article III of the 6
2121 Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
2222 Section A. Sections 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 16, 18, 20, 20(a), 1
2323 20(b), 31, and 32, article III, Constitution of Missouri, are 2
2424 repealed and eleven new sections adopted in lieu thereof, to be 3
2525 known as sections 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 16, 18, 20, 20(a), 31, and 32, 4
2626 to read as follows:5
2727 Section 3. (a) The house of representatives shall 1
2828 consist of [one hundred sixty-three] members elected at each 2
2929 general election and redistricted as provided in this 3
3030 section. 4
3131 (b) The [house] general assembly independent 5
3232 bipartisan citizens commission shall redistrict each house 6
3333 of the [house of representatives ] general assembly using the 7
3434 following methods, listed in order of priority: 8 SJR 16 2
3535 (1) Districts shall be as nearly equal as practicable 9
3636 in population, and shall be drawn on the basis of one 10
3737 person, one vote. Districts are as nearly equal as 11
3838 practicable in population if no district deviates by more 12
3939 than one percent from the ideal population of the district, 13
4040 as measured by dividing the number of districts into the 14
4141 statewide population data being used, except that a district 15
4242 may deviate by up to three percent if necessary to follow 16
4343 political subdivision lines consistent with subdivision (4) 17
4444 of this subsection; 18
4545 (2) Districts shall be established in a manner so as 19
4646 to comply with all requirements of the United States 20
4747 Constitution and applicable federal laws, including, but not 21
4848 limited to, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (as amended). The 22
4949 following principles shall take precedence over any other 23
5050 part of this constitution: no district shall be drawn in a 24
5151 manner which results in a denial or abridgment of the right 25
5252 of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of 26
5353 race or color; and no district shall be drawn such that 27
5454 members of any community of citizens protected by the 28
5555 preceding clause have less opportunity than other members of 29
5656 the electorate to participate in the polit ical process and 30
5757 to elect representatives of their choice; 31
5858 (3) Subject to the requirements of subdivisions (1) 32
5959 and (2) of this subsection, districts shall be composed of 33
6060 contiguous territory as compact as may be. Areas which meet 34
6161 only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. 35
6262 In general, compact districts are those which are square, 36
6363 rectangular, or hexagonal in shape to the extent permitted 37
6464 by natural or political boundaries; 38
6565 (4) To the extent consistent with subdivisions ( 1) to 39
6666 (3) of this subsection, communities shall be preserved. 40 SJR 16 3
6767 Districts shall satisfy this requirement if district lines 41
6868 follow political subdivision lines to the extent possible, 42
6969 using the following criteria, in order of priority. First, 43
7070 each county shall wholly contain as many districts as its 44
7171 population allows. Second, if a county wholly contains one 45
7272 or more districts, the remaining population shall be wholly 46
7373 joined in a single district made up of population from 47
7474 outside the county. If a county does not wholly contain a 48
7575 district, then no more than two segments of a county shall 49
7676 be combined with an adjoining county. Third, split counties 50
7777 and county segments, defined as any part of the county that 51
7878 is in a district not wholly within that co unty, shall each 52
7979 be as few as possible. Fourth, as few municipal lines shall 53
8080 be crossed as possible . Fifth, no house of representatives 54
8181 district shall cross a senate district line or be in more 55
8282 than one senate district ; 56
8383 (5) Districts shall be d rawn in a manner that achieves 57
8484 both partisan fairness and, secondarily, competitiveness, 58
8585 but the standards established by subdivisions (1) to (4) of 59
8686 this subsection shall take precedence over partisan fairness 60
8787 and competitiveness. "Partisan fairness" means that parties 61
8888 shall be able to translate their popular support into 62
8989 legislative representation with approximately equal 63
9090 efficiency. "Competitiveness" means that parties' 64
9191 legislative representation shall be substantially and 65
9292 similarly responsive to shifts in the electorate's 66
9393 preferences. 67
9494 To this end, the average electoral performance of the 68
9595 two political parties receiving the most votes in the three 69
9696 preceding general elections for governor, for United States 70
9797 Senate, and for President of t he United States shall be 71
9898 calculated. This index shall be defined as the total votes 72 SJR 16 4
9999 received by each party in the three preceding general 73
100100 elections for governor, for United States Senate, and for 74
101101 President of the United States, divided by the total v otes 75
102102 cast for both parties in these elections. Using this index, 76
103103 the total number of wasted votes for each party, summing 77
104104 across all of the districts in the plan shall be 78
105105 calculated. "Wasted votes" are votes cast for a losing 79
106106 candidate or for a winn ing candidate in excess of the 80
107107 threshold needed for victory. In any redistricting plan and 81
108108 map of the proposed districts, the difference between the 82
109109 two parties' total wasted votes, divided by the total votes 83
110110 cast for the two parties, shall not exceed fifteen percent. 84
111111 To promote competitiveness, the electoral performance 85
112112 index shall be used to simulate elections in which the 86
113113 hypothetical statewide vote shifts by one percent, two 87
114114 percent, three percent, four percent, and five percent in 88
115115 favor of each party. The vote in each individual district 89
116116 shall be assumed to shift by the same amount as the 90
117117 statewide vote. In each of these simulated elections, the 91
118118 difference between the two parties' total wasted votes, 92
119119 divided by the total votes cast f or the two parties, shall 93
120120 not exceed fifteen percent. 94
121121 (c) Within sixty days after the adoption of this 95
122122 section and within sixty days after the population of this 96
123123 state is reported to the President for each decennial census 97
124124 of the United States or , in the event that a redistricting 98
125125 plan has been invalidated by a court of competent 99
126126 jurisdiction, within sixty days that such a ruling has been 100
127127 made, the state committee and the congressional district 101
128128 committees of each of the two political parties c asting the 102
129129 highest vote for governor at the last preceding general 103
130130 election shall meet and the members of each committee shall 104 SJR 16 5
131131 nominate, by a majority vote of the elected members of the 105
132132 committee present, provided that a majority of the elected 106
133133 members is present, members of their party, residents in 107
134134 that district, in the case of a congressional district 108
135135 committee, as nominees for the [house] general assembly 109
136136 independent bipartisan citizens commission. Each member of 110
137137 the committee shall be entitle d to only one vote 111
138138 notwithstanding the number of offices or titles that the 112
139139 member may have or the manner in which the member became a 113
140140 member of the committee. No party shall select more than 114
141141 one nominee from any one state legislative district. The 115
142142 congressional district committees shall each submit to the 116
143143 governor their list of two elected nominees. The state 117
144144 committees shall each submit to the governor their list of 118
145145 five elected nominees. Within thirty days thereafter, the 119
146146 governor shall appoint a [house] general assembly 120
147147 independent bipartisan citizens commission consisting of one 121
148148 nominee from each list submitted by each congressional 122
149149 district committee and two nominees from each list submitted 123
150150 by each state committee to redistrict [the state into one 124
151151 hundred and sixty-three representative districts ] each house 125
152152 of the general assembly and to establish the numbers and 126
153153 boundaries of said districts. [No person shall be appointed 127
154154 to both the house independent bipartisan citizens commissio n 128
155155 and the senate independent bipartisan citizens commission 129
156156 during the same redistricting cycle. ] 130
157157 If any committee fails to submit a list within such 131
158158 time, the governor shall appoint a member of his or her own 132
159159 choice from the political party of th e committee failing to 133
160160 submit a list, provided that in the case of a congressional 134
161161 district committee failing to submit a list, the person 135 SJR 16 6
162162 appointed to the commission by the governor shall reside in 136
163163 the congressional district of such committee. 137
164164 Members of the commission shall be disqualified from 138
165165 holding office as members of the general assembly for four 139
166166 years following the date of the filing by the commission of 140
167167 its final redistricting plan. 141
168168 For the purposes of this Article, the term 142
169169 congressional district committee or congressional district 143
170170 refers to the congressional district committee or the 144
171171 congressional district from which a congressman was last 145
172172 elected, or, in the event members of congress from this 146
173173 state have been elected at lar ge, the term congressional 147
174174 district committee refers to those persons who last served 148
175175 as the congressional district committee for those districts 149
176176 from which congressmen were last elected, and the term 150
177177 congressional district refers to those districts fr om which 151
178178 congressmen were last elected. Any action pursuant to this 152
179179 section by the congressional district committee shall take 153
180180 place only at duly called meetings, shall be recorded in 154
181181 their official minutes and only members present in person 155
182182 shall be permitted to vote. 156
183183 (d) The commissioners so selected shall, on the 157
184184 fifteenth day, excluding Sundays and state holidays, after 158
185185 all members have been appointed, meet in the capitol 159
186186 building and proceed to organize by electing from their 160
187187 number a chairman, vice chairman and secretary. The 161
188188 commission shall adopt an agenda establishing at least three 162
189189 hearing dates on which hearings open to the public shall be 163
190190 held to hear objections or testimony from interested 164
191191 persons. A copy of the agenda shal l be filed with the clerk 165
192192 of the house of representatives and the secretary of senate 166
193193 within twenty-four hours after its adoption. Executive 167 SJR 16 7
194194 meetings may be scheduled and held as often as the 168
195195 commission deems advisable. 169
196196 (e) Not later than five m onths after the appointment 170
197197 of the commission, the commission shall file with the 171
198198 secretary of state a tentative redistricting plan and map of 172
199199 the proposed districts and during the ensuing fifteen days 173
200200 shall hold such public hearings as may be necessar y to hear 174
201201 objections or testimony of interested persons. The 175
202202 commission shall make public the tentative redistricting 176
203203 plan and map of the proposed districts, as well as all 177
204204 demographic and partisan data used in the creation of the 178
205205 plan and map. 179
206206 (f) Not later than six months after the appointment of 180
207207 the commission, the commission shall file with the secretary 181
208208 of state a final statement of the numbers and the boundaries 182
209209 of the districts together with a map of the districts, and 183
210210 no statement shall be valid unless approved by at least 184
211211 seven-tenths of the members. 185
212212 (g) After the final statement is filed, members of 186
213213 [the house of representatives ] each house of the general 187
214214 assembly shall be elected according to such districts until 188
215215 a new redistricting plan is made as provided in this 189
216216 section[, except that if the final statement is not filed 190
217217 within six months of the time fixed for the appointment of 191
218218 the commission, the commission shall stand discharged and 192
219219 the house of representatives sha ll be redistricted using the 193
220220 same methods and criteria as described in subsection (b) of 194
221221 this section by a commission of six members appointed from 195
222222 among the judges of the appellate courts of the state of 196
223223 Missouri by the state supreme court, a majority of whom 197
224224 shall sign and file its redistricting plan and map with the 198
225225 secretary of state within ninety days of the date of the 199 SJR 16 8
226226 discharge of the house independent bipartisan citizens 200
227227 commission. The judicial commission shall make public the 201
228228 tentative redistricting plan and map of the proposed 202
229229 districts, as well as all demographic and partisan data used 203
230230 in the creation of the plan and map. Thereafter, members of 204
231231 the house of representatives shall be elected according to 205
232232 such districts until a redist ricting plan is made as 206
233233 provided in this section ]. 207
234234 (h) Each member of the commission shall receive as 208
235235 compensation fifteen dollars a day for each day the 209
236236 commission is in session but not more than one thousand 210
237237 dollars, or such compensation as is otherwise provided by 211
238238 law, and, in addition, shall be reimbursed for his or her 212
239239 actual and necessary expenses incurred while serving as a 213
240240 member of the commission. 214
241241 [(i) No redistricting plan shall be subject to the 215
242242 referendum. 216
243243 (j) Any action expressly or implicitly alleging that a 217
244244 redistricting plan violates this Constitution, federal law, 218
245245 or the United States Constitution shall be filed in the 219
246246 circuit court of Cole County and shall name the body that 220
247247 approved the challenged redistrictin g plan as a defendant. 221
248248 Only an eligible Missouri voter who sustains an individual 222
249249 injury by virtue of residing in a district that exhibits the 223
250250 alleged violation, and whose injury is remedied by a 224
251251 differently drawn district, shall have standing. If the 225
252252 court renders a judgment in which it finds that a completed 226
253253 redistricting plan exhibits the alleged violation, its 227
254254 judgment shall adjust only those districts, and only those 228
255255 parts of district boundaries, necessary to bring the map 229
256256 into compliance. The supreme court shall have exclusive 230 SJR 16 9
257257 appellate jurisdiction upon the filing of a notice of appeal 231
258258 within ten days after the judgment has become final. ] 232
259259 Section 5. The senate shall consist of thirty -four 1
260260 members elected by the quali fied voters of the senatorial 2
261261 districts for a term of four years. Senatorial districts 3
262262 shall be [apportioned] redistricted as provided for in 4
263263 Article III, Section [7] 3. 5
264264 Section 7. (a) [Within sixty days after the 1
265265 population of this state is reported to the President for 2
266266 each decennial census of the United States, or within sixty 3
267267 days after a redistricting plan has been invalidated by a 4
268268 court of competent jurisdiction, the state committee and the 5
269269 congressional district committe es of each of the two 6
270270 political parties casting the highest vote for governor at 7
271271 the last preceding general election shall meet and the 8
272272 members of each committee shall nominate, by a majority vote 9
273273 of the elected members of the committee present, provid ed 10
274274 that a majority of the elected members is present, members 11
275275 of their party, residents in that district, in the case of a 12
276276 congressional district committee, as nominees for the senate 13
277277 independent bipartisan citizens commission. No party shall 14
278278 select more than one nominee from any one state legislative 15
279279 district. The congressional district committees shall each 16
280280 submit to the governor their list of two elected nominees. 17
281281 The state committees shall each submit to the governor their 18
282282 list of five elected nominees. Within thirty days 19
283283 thereafter the governor shall appoint a senate independent 20
284284 bipartisan citizens commission consisting of two nominees 21
285285 from each list submitted by each state committee and one 22
286286 nominee from each list submitted by each cong ressional 23
287287 district committee, to redistrict the thirty -four senatorial 24
288288 districts and to establish the numbers and boundaries of 25 SJR 16 10
289289 said districts. No person shall be appointed to both the 26
290290 house independent bipartisan citizens commission and the 27
291291 senate independent bipartisan citizens commission during the 28
292292 same redistricting cycle. 29
293293 If any committee fails to submit a list within such 30
294294 time, the governor shall appoint a member of his or her own 31
295295 choice from the political party of the committee failing to 32
296296 submit a list, provided that in the case of a congressional 33
297297 district committee failing to submit a list, the person 34
298298 appointed to the commission by the governor shall reside in 35
299299 the congressional district of such committee. 36
300300 Members of the commission shall be disqualified from 37
301301 holding office as members of the general assembly for four 38
302302 years following the date of the filing by the commission of 39
303303 its final redistricting plan. 40
304304 (b) The commissioners so selected shall, on the 41
305305 fifteenth day, excluding Sundays and state holidays, after 42
306306 all members have been appointed, meet in the capitol 43
307307 building and proceed to organize by electing from their 44
308308 number a chairman, vice chairman and secretary. The 45
309309 commission shall adopt an agenda establishing at least three 46
310310 hearing dates on which hearings open to the public shall be 47
311311 held to hear objections or testimony from interested 48
312312 persons. A copy of the agenda shall be filed with the 49
313313 secretary of the senate within twenty -four hours after its 50
314314 adoption. Executive meetings may be scheduled and held as 51
315315 often as the commission deems advisable. 52
316316 (c) The senate independent bipartisan citizens 53
317317 commission shall redistrict the senate using the same 54
318318 methods and criteria as those required by subsection (b), 55
319319 section 3 of this Article for the redistricting of the house 56
320320 of representatives. 57 SJR 16 11
321321 (d) Not later than five months after the appointment 58
322322 of the senate independent bipartisan citizens commission, 59
323323 the commission shall file with the secretary of state a 60
324324 tentative redistricting plan and map of the proposed 61
325325 districts and during the ensuing fifteen days shall hold 62
326326 such public hearings as may be necessary to hear objections 63
327327 or testimony of interested persons. The commission shall 64
328328 make public the tenta tive redistricting plan and map of the 65
329329 proposed districts, as well as all demographic and partisan 66
330330 data used in the creation of the plan and map. 67
331331 (e) Not later than six months after the appointment of 68
332332 the commission, the commission shall file with the secretary 69
333333 of state a final statement of the numbers and the boundaries 70
334334 of the districts together with a map of the districts, and 71
335335 no statement shall be valid unless approved by at least 72
336336 seven-tenths of the members. 73
337337 (f) After the final statem ent is filed, senators shall 74
338338 be elected according to such districts until a new 75
339339 redistricting plan is made as provided in this section, 76
340340 except that if the final statement is not filed within six 77
341341 months of the time fixed for the appointment of the 78
342342 commission, the commission shall stand discharged and the 79
343343 senate shall be redistricted using the same methods and 80
344344 criteria as described in subsection (b) of section 3 of this 81
345345 Article by a commission of six members appointed from among 82
346346 the judges of the app ellate courts of the state of Missouri 83
347347 by the state supreme court, a majority of whom shall sign 84
348348 and file its redistricting plan and map with the secretary 85
349349 of state within ninety days of the date of the discharge of 86
350350 the senate independent bipartisan ci tizens commission. The 87
351351 judicial commission shall make public the tentative 88
352352 redistricting plan and map of the proposed districts, as 89 SJR 16 12
353353 well as all demographic and partisan data used in the 90
354354 creation of the plan and map. Thereafter, senators shall be 91
355355 elected according to such districts until a redistricting 92
356356 plan is made as provided in this section. 93
357357 (g) Each member of the commission shall receive as 94
358358 compensation fifteen dollars a day for each day the 95
359359 commission is in session, but not more than one thousand 96
360360 dollars, and, in addition, shall be reimbursed for his or 97
361361 her actual and necessary expenses incurred while serving as 98
362362 a member of the commission ] If the general assembly 99
363363 independent bipartisan citizens commission final statement 100
364364 is not filed within six months of the time fixed for the 101
365365 appointment of the commission, the commission shall stand 102
366366 discharged and the general assembly shall be redistricted 103
367367 using the same methods and criteria as described in 104
368368 subsection (b) of section 3 of Article III, by a commission 105
369369 of six members appointed equally from among the judges of 106
370370 each of the districts of the appellate courts of the state 107
371371 of Missouri by the presiding judge of the state supreme 108
372372 court, a majority of whom shall sign and file its tentativ e 109
373373 redistricting plan and map with the secretary of state 110
374374 within thirty days of the date of the discharge of the 111
375375 general assembly independent bipartisan citizens commission 112
376376 to which the public may submit objections or comments. 113
377377 Within sixty days of th e date of discharge of the general 114
378378 assembly independent bipartisan citizens commission, the 115
379379 judicial commission shall submit to the secretary of state 116
380380 and make public the final redistricting plan and map of the 117
381381 proposed districts, as well as all demogr aphic and partisan 118
382382 data used in the creation of the plan and map. Thereafter, 119
383383 members of each house of the general assembly shall be 120 SJR 16 13
384384 elected according to such districts until a redistricting 121
385385 plan is made as provided in Article III, Section 3 . 122
386386 [(h)] (b) No redistricting plan shall be subject to 123
387387 the referendum. 124
388388 [(i)] (c) Any action expressly or implicitly alleging 125
389389 that a redistricting plan violates this Constitution, 126
390390 federal law, or the United States Constitution shall be 127
391391 filed in the circuit court of Cole County and shall name the 128
392392 body that approved the challenged redistricting plan as a 129
393393 defendant. Only an eligible Missouri voter who sustains an 130
394394 individual injury by virtue of residing in a district that 131
395395 exhibits the alleged violation , and whose injury is remedied 132
396396 by a differently drawn district, shall have standing. If 133
397397 the court renders a judgment in which it finds that a 134
398398 completed redistricting plan exhibits the alleged violation, 135
399399 its judgment shall adjust only those districts, and only 136
400400 those parts of district boundaries, necessary to bring the 137
401401 map into compliance. The supreme court shall have exclusive 138
402402 appellate jurisdiction upon the filing of a notice of appeal 139
403403 within ten days after the judgment has become final. 140
404404 Section 8. (a) No one shall be elected to serve [more 1
405405 than] as a member of: 2
406406 (1) The house of representatives for two years after 3
407407 serving eight consecutive years in such house; 4
408408 (2) The senate for four years after serving eight 5
409409 consecutive years [total] in [any one] such house [of the 6
410410 General Assembly nor more than ]; or 7
411411 (3) Either house of the general assembly for four 8
412412 years after serving sixteen consecutive years [total] in 9
413413 both houses of the General Assembly. 10
414414 (b) In applying this section, service in the General 11
415415 Assembly [resulting from an election prior to December 3, 12 SJR 16 14
416416 1992, or service] of less than one year, in the case of a 13
417417 member of the house of representatives, or two years, in the 14
418418 case of a member of the senate, by a person elected after 15
419419 the effective date of this section to complete the term of 16
420420 another person, shall not be counted. 17
421421 Section 9. Until the convening of the [seventy-fourth] 1
422422 one hundred seventh General Assembly the House of 2
423423 Representatives shall consist of one hundred sixty -three 3
424424 members elected from [the] one hundred sixty-three 4
425425 representative districts [, as they existed January 1, 5
426426 1965]. Beginning with the one hundred seventh general 6
427427 assembly, the house of re presentatives shall consist of one 7
428428 hundred seventy members elected from one hundred seventy 8
429429 districts by the qualified voters of such districts for a 9
430430 term of two years. Representative districts shall be 10
431431 redistricted as provided for in Section 3 of thi s Article. 11
432432 Section 16. [Senators and representatives shall 1
433433 receive from the state treasury as salary such sums as are 2
434434 provided by law.] Until otherwise provided by law, 3
435435 notwithstanding Section 13 of Article VII of this 4
436436 constitution to the contrary, beginning with the first 5
437437 regular session following the adoption of Section 20 of this 6
438438 Article, each senator or representative shall receive from 7
439439 the state treasury as salary three times the sum as is 8
440440 currently provided by law at the ti me of the passage of this 9
441441 amendment. Senators and representatives shall devote their 10
442442 full time, during their term of office, to their duties as 11
443443 members of the general assembly. No law fixing the 12
444444 compensation of members of the general assembly shall b ecome 13
445445 effective until the first day of the regular session of the 14
446446 general assembly next following the session at which the law 15
447447 was enacted. Upon certification by the president and 16 SJR 16 15
448448 secretary of the senate and by the speaker and chief clerk 17
449449 of the house of representatives as to the respective members 18
450450 thereof, the state comptroller shall audit and the state 19
451451 treasurer shall pay such compensation without legislative 20
452452 enactment. [Until otherwise provided by law ] Senators and 21
453453 representatives shall receiv e [one dollar for every ten 22
454454 miles] such sum as is provided by law for each mile traveled 23
455455 in going to and returning from their place of meeting while 24
456456 the legislature is in session, on the most usual route. 25
457457 [Until otherwise provided by law, ] Each senator or 26
458458 representative shall be reimbursed from the state treasury 27
459459 for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by him or her 28
460460 in attending sessions of the general assembly in [the] such 29
461461 sum [of ten dollars ($10.00) ] as is provided by law per day 30
462462 for each day on which the journal of the senate or house 31
463463 respectively shows the presence of such senator or 32
464464 representative. Upon certification by the president and 33
465465 secretary of the senate and by the speaker and chief clerk 34
466466 of the house of representatives as to the respective members 35
467467 thereof, the state comptroller shall approve and the state 36
468468 treasurer shall pay monthly such expense allowance without 37
469469 legislative enactment. 38
470470 Section 18. Each house shall appoint its own officers; 1
471471 shall be sole judge of the qualifications, election and 2
472472 returns of its own members; and may determine the rules of 3
473473 its own proceedings, except as herein provided [;]. The 4
474474 lieutenant governor shall cast the deciding vote on equal 5
475475 division in the house of repr esentatives. Each house may 6
476476 arrest and punish by fine not exceeding three hundred 7
477477 dollars, or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding ten 8
478478 days, or both, any person not a member, who shall be guilty 9
479479 of disrespect to the house by any disorderly or c ontemptuous 10 SJR 16 16
480480 behavior in its presence during its sessions; may punish its 11
481481 members for disorderly conduct; and, with the concurrence of 12
482482 two-thirds of all members elect, may expel a member; but no 13
483483 member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause. 14
484484 Section 20. The general assembly shall [meet] convene 1
485485 on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January 2
486486 following each general election. The general assembly may 3
487487 provide by law for the introduction of bills , to be 4
488488 considered in the session commencing the first Wednesday 5
489489 after the first Monday of January following each general 6
490490 election, during the period between the first day of 7
491491 December following each general election and the first 8
492492 Wednesday after the first Monday of Jan uary following each 9
493493 general election. The general assembly shall be a 10
494494 continuous body during the term for which members of the 11
495495 house of representatives are elected . 12
496496 [The general assembly shall reconvene on the first 13
497497 Wednesday after the first Monday of January after 14
498498 adjournment at midnight on May thirtieth of the preceding 15
499499 year.] A majority of the elected members of each house 16
500500 shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller 17
501501 number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the 18
502502 attendance of absent members in such manner and under such 19
503503 penalties as each house may provide. The sessions of each 20
504504 house shall be held with open doors, except in cases which 21
505505 may require secrecy but not including the final vote on 22
506506 bills, resolutions and co nfirmations. Neither house shall, 23
507507 without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than ten 24
508508 days at any one time, nor to any other place than that in 25
509509 which the two houses may be sitting. 26
510510 Section 20(a). The general assembly shall a djourn at 1
511511 midnight on [May thirtieth until the first Wednesday after 2 SJR 16 17
512512 the first Monday of January of the following year ] December 3
513513 thirty-first after each general election , unless it has 4
514514 adjourned prior thereto. All bills in either house 5
515515 remaining on the calendar after 6:00 p.m. on the [first 6
516516 Friday following the second Monday in May ] thirtieth day of 7
517517 November immediately following each general election are 8
518518 tabled. For any bills not enrolled, engrossed, signed and 9
519519 delivered to the governor, prior t o the thirtieth day of 10
520520 November following the general election, the period between 11
521521 the first [Friday following the second Monday in May and May 12
522522 thirtieth] day in December following each general election 13
523523 and the tenth day of December following each gene ral 14
524524 election shall be devoted to the enrolling, engrossing, and 15
525525 the signing in open session by officers of the respective 16
526526 houses of bills passed prior to 6:00 p.m. on [the first 17
527527 Friday following the second Monday in May ] the thirtieth day 18
528528 of November following each general election . 19
529529 The general assembly shall automatically stand 20
530530 adjourned sine die at 6:00 p.m. on [the sixtieth calendar 21
531531 day after the date of its convening in special session ] the 22
532532 thirty-first day of December following each genera l 23
533533 election, unless it has adjourned sine die prior thereto. 24
534534 Section 31. Every bill which shall have passed the 1
535535 house of representatives and the senate shall be presented 2
536536 to and considered by the governor, and, within fifteen days 3
537537 after presentment, he shall return such bill to the house in 4
538538 which it originated endorsed with his approval or 5
539539 accompanied by his objections. If the bill be approved by 6
540540 the governor it shall become a law. [When the general 7
541541 assembly adjourns, or recesse s for a period of thirty days 8
542542 or more, the governor shall return within forty -five days 9
543543 any bill to the office of the secretary of state with his 10 SJR 16 18
544544 approval or reasons for disapproval. ] If any bill shall not 11
545545 be returned by the governor within the time l imits 12
546546 prescribed by this section it shall become law in like 13
547547 manner as if the governor had signed it. 14
548548 Section 32. Every bill presented to the governor and 1
549549 returned with his objections shall stand as reconsidered in 2
550550 the house to which it is returned, at any time the general 3
551551 assembly may be in session, in the sole discretion of the 4
552552 general assembly, but not later than thirty days after the 5
553553 bill is returned, with objections, by the governor . If the 6
554554 governor returns any bill with hi s objections on or after 7
555555 the fifth day before the last day upon which a session of 8
556556 the general assembly may consider bills, the general 9
557557 assembly shall automatically reconvene on the [first 10
558558 Wednesday following the second Monday in September ] twenty- 11
559559 seventh day of December following each general election for 12
560560 a period not to exceed [ten] five calendar days for the sole 13
561561 purpose of considering bills returned by the governor. The 14
562562 objections of the governor shall be entered upon the journal 15
563563 and the house shall proceed to consider the question 16
564564 pending, which shall be in this form: "Shall the bill pass, 17
565565 the objections of the governor thereto notwithstanding?" The 18
566566 vote upon this question shall be taken by yeas and nays and 19
567567 if two-thirds of the elected me mbers of the house vote in 20
568568 the affirmative the presiding officer of that house shall 21
569569 certify that fact on the roll, attesting the same by his 22
570570 signature, and send the bill with the objections of the 23
571571 governor to the other house, in which like proceedings shall 24
572572 be had in relation thereto. The bill thus certified shall 25
573573 be deposited in the office of the secretary of state as an 26
574574 authentic act and shall become a law. 27 SJR 16 19
575575 [Section 20(b). Upon the filing with the 1
576576 secretary of state of a peti tion stating the 2
577577 purpose for which the session is to be called 3
578578 and signed by three-fourths of the members of 4
579579 the senate and three -fourths of the members of 5
580580 the house of representatives, the president pro 6
581581 tem of the senate and the speaker of the house 7
582582 shall by joint proclamation convene the general 8
583583 assembly in special session. The proclamation 9
584584 shall state specifically each matter contained 10
585585 in the petition on which action is deemed 11
586586 necessary. No appropriation bill shall be 12
587587 considered in a special session convened 13
588588 pursuant to this section if in that year the 14
589589 general assembly has not passed the operating 15
590590 budget in compliance with Section 25 of this 16
591591 article. 17
592592 The general assembly shall automatically 18
593593 stand adjourned sine die at 6:00 p.m. on t he 19
594594 thirtieth calendar day after the date of its 20
595595 convening in special session under this section 21
596596 unless it has adjourned sine die prior thereto. ] 22
597597