State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_SC0014

      ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 1
      ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 8
          Proposes to amend the Illinois Constitution with  respect
      to  legislative powers.  Authorizes electors to propose bills
      by petition.  Provides for submission of such bills  to  both
      houses  of  the  General  Assembly and for record votes to be
      taken.  Effective upon approval by the electors.
                                                    LRB9002312DJpcA
                                              LRB9002312DJpcA
 1                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
 2                      CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
 3        WHEREAS, We  are,  in  the  words  of  President  Abraham
 4    Lincoln,  a "government of the people, by the people, and for
 5    the people"; and
 6        WHEREAS, An amendment to the Illinois Constitution  built
 7    upon  the  Lincoln  principles  of  government  will serve to
 8    strengthen our democracy; and
 9        WHEREAS, The petition rights of our citizens are  central
10    to our form of self-government; therefore, be it
11        RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
12    OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  THE  HOUSE  OF REPRESENTATIVES
13    CONCURRING HEREIN, that  there  shall  be  submitted  to  the
14    electors  of  the  State  for  adoption  or  rejection at the
15    general election next occurring at least 6 months  after  the
16    adoption of this resolution a proposition to amend Sections 1
17    and 8 of Article IV of the Constitution as follows:
18                             ARTICLE IV
19                           THE LEGISLATURE
20         (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 1)
21    SECTION 1. LEGISLATURE - POWER AND STRUCTURE
22        (a)  Except   as   provided   in   subsection   (b),  the
23    legislative power is vested in a General Assembly  consisting
24    of  a  Senate  and a House of Representatives, elected by the
25    electors from 59 Legislative Districts and 118 Representative
26    Districts.
27        (b)  The electors reserve to themselves  the  legislative
28    power  to  propose bills by petition for consideration by the
29    General Assembly as provided in subsection (b-5)  of  Section
30    8.
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 1    (Source:  Amendment  adopted  at general election November 4,
 2    1980.)
 3         (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 8)
 4    SECTION 8. PASSAGE OF BILLS
 5        (a)  The enacting clause of the laws of this State  shall
 6    be:  "Be  it  enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 7    represented in the General Assembly."
 8        (b)  The General Assembly shall enact laws only by  bill.
 9    Except  as  provided in subsection (b-5), bills may originate
10    in either house, but may be amended or rejected by the other.
11        (b-5)  Bills may be proposed by a petition  signed  by  a
12    number  of  electors  equal  in  number to at least 6% of the
13    total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding
14    gubernatorial election.  A petition shall contain the text of
15    the bill, shall have been signed by the petitioning  electors
16    not  more than one year preceding the filing of the petition,
17    and shall be filed with the Secretary of  State  not  earlier
18    than  the  second  Wednesday  in  January in any year and not
19    later than the fourth Wednesday in March in that  year.   The
20    procedure  for  determining the validity and sufficiency of a
21    petition shall be provided by law, but  the  procedure  shall
22    take not longer than 30 days.
23        If a petition is determined to be valid and sufficient as
24    provided  by  law, the bill proposed by the petition shall be
25    proposed to the members of the House  of  Representatives  by
26    the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and to the
27    members of the Senate by the President of  the  Senate.   The
28    bill  may  not  be amended by either house.  A record vote of
29    all the members of the House of Representatives and  all  the
30    members  of  the  Senate  shall be taken on the bill not more
31    than 30 days after the petition is determined to be valid and
32    sufficient.
33        (c)  No bill shall become a law without  the  concurrence
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 1    of  a  majority  of  the members elected to each house. Final
 2    passage of a bill shall be by record vote. In the  Senate  at
 3    the  request  of two members, and in the House at the request
 4    of five members, a record vote may  be  taken  on  any  other
 5    occasion. A record vote is a vote by yeas and nays entered on
 6    the journal.
 7        (d)  A  bill  shall  be  read by title on three different
 8    days in each house. A bill and each amendment  thereto  shall
 9    be  reproduced  and  placed on the desk of each member before
10    final passage.
11        Bills,  except  bills  for  appropriations  and  for  the
12    codification, revision or rearrangement  of  laws,  shall  be
13    confined to one subject. Appropriation bills shall be limited
14    to the subject of appropriations.
15        A   bill   expressly  amending  a  law  shall  set  forth
16    completely the sections amended.
17        The Speaker of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the
18    President of the Senate shall sign each bill that passes both
19    houses  to  certify  that  the  procedural  requirements  for
20    passage have been met.
21    (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
22                              SCHEDULE
23        This  Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon approval
24    by the electors of this State.

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