HJ0111 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0111 LRB095 20248 RCE 47053 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Article XIV of the 1970 Illinois Constitution requires that if the question of whether a Constitutional Convention should be called is not submitted during any 20-year period, that question shall be submitted at the general election in the 20th year following the last submission; and

WHEREAS, The question of the convening of a Constitutional Convention was submitted to the electorate in 1988, and that question has not been submitted during the past 20-year period; and

WHEREAS, The 1970 Illinois Constitution requires that the question of whether to call a Constitutional Convention be submitted to the electorate at the general election in 2008; and

WHEREAS, The Constitutional Convention Act authorizes the procedure for preparing voter education materials to accompany the question of calling a convention and requires the General Assembly to prepare those materials; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that a Joint Committee is hereby created, to be known as the Joint Committee for the Constitutional Convention Proposal; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee shall consist of 8 legislative members, 2 each appointed by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and the President and Minority Leader of the Senate; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate shall each designate one member of the Joint Committee to serve as Co-Chair; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee shall direct the preparation of a brief explanation of the question of calling a Constitutional Convention, a brief argument in favor of a call, a brief argument against a call, and the form in which the question will appear on its separate ballot as provided in the Election Code; and be it further

RESOLVED, That by April 4, 2008, the Joint Committee shall file a report with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the report shall contain the explanation of the question calling a Constitutional Convention, the arguments in favor and against the call, and the form in which the question of a Constitutional Convention will appear on the ballot; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the 2 houses shall accept the report by adopting the same joint resolution by a majority of the members elected to each house, and the report shall then be certified to the Secretary of State.