Constitution; amend to provide that the people have the right to propose new statutes and amend or repeal existing statutes.

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To: Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) England

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 518

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 33, 1
56, 61 AND 72, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, TO PROVIDE THAT 2
THE PEOPLE RESERVE TO THEMSELVES THE RIGHT TO EXERCISE THE 3
LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE STATE TO PROPOSE NEW LAWS AND TO AMEND OR 4
REPEAL EXISTING LAWS BY INITIATIVE, AND TO APPROVE OR REJECT THE 5
SAME IN AN ELECTION INDEPENDENT OF THE LEGISLATURE; AND FOR 6
RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF 8
MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendments to the Mississippi 9
Constitution of 1890 are proposed to the qualified electors of the 10
state: 11
I. 12
Amend Section 33, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 13
as follows: 14
Section 33. (1) The legislative power of this state shall 15
be vested in a Legislature which shall consist of a Senate and a 16
House of Representatives, but the people reserve to themselves the 17
right to exercise the legislative power of the state to propose 18
new laws and to amend or repeal existing laws by initiative, and 19
to approve or reject the same in an election independent of the 20
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Legislature, in the manner prescribed in and subject to the 21
provisions of this section. 22
(2) The initiative process shall not be used: 23
(a) To deprive any human being, as defined in Section 24
41-41-191, of the right to life; 25
(b) To propose any new amendments to or the 26
modification or repeal of any existing provision of this 27
constitution; 28
(c) To propose any new law or amend or repeal any 29
existing law relating to the Mississippi Public Employees' 30
Retirement System; 31
(d) To propose any new local or special law or amend or 32
repeal any existing local or special law; or 33
(e) To propose any new law or amend or repeal any 34
existing law on any subject or matter that any section of this 35
constitution prohibits the Legislature from enacting. 36
(3) An initiative may be proposed by a petition signed over 37
a twelve-month period by qualified electors equal in number to at 38
least ten percent (10%) of the total number of active registered 39
voters at the time the petition for the proposed initiative is 40
filed with the Secretary of State. The signatures of the 41
qualified electors from any single congressional district shall 42
not exceed thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) of the 43
total number of signatures required to qualify an initiative 44
measure for placement on the ballot. If an initiative petition 45
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contains signatures from a single congressional district that 46
exceeds thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) of the total 47
number of required signatures, the excess signatures from that 48
congressional district shall not be considered by the Secretary of 49
State in determining whether the initiative measure qualifies for 50
placement on the ballot. The sufficiency of petitions shall be 51
decided in the first instance by the Secretary of State, subject 52
to review by the Supreme Court of the state, which shall have 53
original and exclusive jurisdiction over all such cases. 54
(4) The sponsor of an initiative shall identify in the text 55
of the initiative the amount and source of revenue required to 56
implement the initiative. If the provisions of an initiative 57
would cause a substantial cost to the state or require the 58
substantial expenditure of state funds, as determined according to 59
law by the Legislative Budget Office or any successor agency, the 60
sponsor also shall provide in the text of the initiative for the 61
specific funding source or mechanism to pay the cost of the 62
provisions of the initiative so that the initiative will not 63
result in a reduction in state funds available for expenditure by 64
the Legislature. If an initiative requires (a) a reduction in any 65
source of government revenue that would cause the amount of state 66
funds available for expenditure by the Legislature to be less than 67
the amount of state funds appropriated for the most recent fiscal 68
year, or (b) requires a reallocation of funding from currently 69
funded programs, the sponsor shall identify in the text of the 70
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measure the program or programs whose funding must be reduced or 71
eliminated to implement the measure. No initiative shall be 72
permitted to redirect state funds from one (1) agency to another 73
nor shall any initiative be permitted to require expenditures that 74
would cause the state to enter into a budget deficit at the time 75
of approval. Compliance with the requirements of this subsection 76
shall not be a violation of the subject matter requirements of 77
subsections (1) and (2) of this section. 78
(5) The chief legislative budget officer shall prepare a 79
fiscal analysis of each initiative and each legislative 80
alternative, and a summary of each fiscal analysis shall appear on 81
the ballot. 82
(6) The style of all initiative measures shall be: "Be it 83
enacted by the people of the State of Mississippi." 84
(7) The sufficiency of petitions shall be decided in the 85
first instance by the Secretary of State, subject to review by the 86
Supreme Court of the state, which shall have original and 87
exclusive jurisdiction over all such cases. 88
(8) If an initiative measure is certified by the Secretary 89
of State not less than ninety (90) days before a statewide general 90
election, the Secretary of State shall place the initiative 91
measure on the ballot for that statewide general election. If an 92
initiative measure is certified by the Secretary of State less 93
than ninety (90) days before a statewide general election, the 94
Secretary of State shall place the initiative measure on the 95
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ballot for the next statewide general election occurring after the 96
upcoming statewide general election. 97
(9) No more than three (3) initiative proposals shall be 98
submitted to the votes on a single ballot, and the first three (3) 99
initiative proposals submitted to the Secretary of State with 100
sufficient petitions shall be the proposals which are submitted to 101
the voters. 102
(10) The Secretary of State shall file with the Clerk of the 103
House and the Secretary of the Senate the complete text of the 104
certified initiative on the first day of the regular session. An 105
initiative may be adopted or adopted as amended by a majority vote 106
of each house of the Legislature. If the initiative is adopted or 107
adopted as amended by the Legislature, or if no action is taken 108
within four (4) months of the date that the initiative is filed 109
with the Legislature, the Secretary of State shall place the 110
initiative, as adopted or adopted as amended as the case may be, 111
on the ballot for the next statewide general election. 112
(11) If the Legislature amends an initiative, the amended 113
version and the original initiative shall be submitted to the 114
electors. In order to be approved, an initiative or legislative 115
alternative must receive a majority of the votes cast thereon and 116
not less than forty percent (40%) of the total votes cast at the 117
election at which the initiative was submitted to be approved. If 118
conflicting initiatives or legislative alternatives are approved 119
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at the same election, the initiative or legislative alternative 120
receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall prevail. 121
(12) If the provisions of the original initiative measure or 122
the initiative measure as amended by the Legislature would cause a 123
substantial cost to the state or require the substantial 124
expenditure of state funds, as determined according to law by the 125
Legislative Budget Office or any successor agency, an initiative 126
or legislative alternative must receive a majority of the votes 127
cast thereon and not less than sixty percent (60%) of the total 128
votes cast at the election at which the initiative was submitted 129
to be approved. 130
(13) If an initiative proposed to the Legislature has been 131
rejected by the Legislature and an alternative is passed by the 132
Legislature in lieu thereof, the ballot titles of both such 133
measures shall be so printed on the official ballots so that a 134
voter can express separately two (2) preferences: First, by 135
voting for the approval of either measure or against both 136
measures, and secondly, by voting for one (1) measure or the other 137
measure. If the majority of those voting on the first issue is 138
against both measures, then both measures fail, but in that case, 139
the votes on the second issue nevertheless shall be carefully 140
counted and made public. If a majority voting on the first issue 141
is for the approval of either measure, then the measure receiving 142
a majority of the votes on the second issue and also receiving not 143
less than forty percent (40%), or sixty percent (60%) when 144
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required by subsection (12) of this section, of the total votes 145
cast at the election at which the initiative was submitted for 146
approval shall be law. Any person who votes for the ratification 147
of either measure on the first issue must vote for one (1) of the 148
measures on the second issue in order for the ballot to be valid. 149
Any person who votes against both measures on the first issue may 150
vote, but shall not be required to vote for any of the measures on 151
the second issue in order for the ballot to be valid. 152
Substantially, the following form shall be in compliance with this 153
subsection: 154
INITIATED BY PETITION AND ALTERNATIVE BY LEGISLATURE 155
Initiative Measure No. _______, entitled (here insert the ballot 156
title of the initiative measure). 157
Alternative Measure No. _______ A, entitled (here insert the 158
ballot title of the alternative measure). 159
VOTE FOR APPROVAL OF EITHER, OR AGAINST BOTH: 160
FOR APPROVAL OF EITHER Initiative No. _______ OR 161
Alternative No. _______ A ................................... ( ) 162
AGAINST Both Initiative No. _______ 163
AND Alternative No. _______ A ............................... ( ) 164
AND VOTE FOR ONE 165
FOR Initiative Measure No. _______ ......................... ( ) 166
FOR Alternative Measure No. _______ A ....................... ( ) 167
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(14) Initiative measures approved by the people shall not 168
require the signature of the Governor to become law and shall not 169
be subject to the veto power of the Governor. 170
(15) An initiative measure approved by the people shall not 171
be amended by the Legislature to make a substantive change to the 172
text in the measure, or repealed by the Legislature, for a period 173
of two (2) years after the initiative measure takes effect. 174
However, the Legislature may amend or repeal an initiative measure 175
less than two (2) years after the measure takes effect if the 176
Legislature determines the existence of extenuating circumstances 177
affecting the public peace, health, safety or financial solvency 178
of the state that necessitates the amendment or repeal of the 179
initiative measure, which circumstances must be stated in the 180
legislation, and such amendment or repeal shall require a vote of 181
three-fifths (3/5) of each house present and voting. 182
(16) The Legislature shall provide by law the manner in 183
which initiative petitions shall be circulated, presented and 184
certified. To prevent signature fraud and to maintain the 185
integrity of the initiative process, the state has a compelling 186
interest in ensuring that no person shall circulate an initiative 187
petition or obtain signatures on an initiative petition unless the 188
person is a resident of this state at the time of circulation. 189
For the purposes of this subsection, the term "resident" means a 190
person who is domiciled in Mississippi as evidenced by an intent 191
to maintain a principal dwelling place in Mississippi indefinitely 192
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and to return to Mississippi if temporarily absent, coupled with 193
an act or acts consistent with that intent. Every person who 194
circulates an initiative petition shall print and sign his or her 195
name on each page of an initiative petition, or on a separate page 196
attached to each page, certifying that he or she was a resident of 197
this state at the time of circulating the petition. The Secretary 198
of State shall refuse to accept for filing any page of an 199
initiative petition upon which the signatures appearing thereon 200
were obtained by a person who was not a resident of this state at 201
the time of circulating the petition, and an initiative shall not 202
be placed on the ballot if the Secretary of State determines that 203
without such signatures the petition clearly bears an insufficient 204
number of signatures. The provisions of this subsection (16) 205
shall be applicable to all initiative measures that have not been 206
placed on the ballot at the time this proposed amendment is 207
ratified by the electorate. 208
(17) An initiative approved by the electors shall take 209
effect thirty (30) days from the official declaration of the vote 210
by the Secretary of State, unless the measure provides otherwise. 211
(18) The Legislature may enact laws to carry out the 212
provisions of this section, but such laws shall in no way restrict 213
or impair the provisions of this section or the exercise of the 214
rights reserved to the people in this section. 215
(19) The Legislature shall enact laws to require the 216
disclosure of contributions and expenditures for the passage or 217
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defeat of an initiative measure as well as any other disclosures 218
related to the initiative process as provided by law. 219
II. 220
Amend Section 56, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 221
as follows: 222
Section 56. The style of the laws of the state that are 223
enacted by the Legislature shall be: "Be it enacted by the 224
Legislature of the State of Mississippi." 225
III. 226
Amend Section 61, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 227
as follows: 228
Section 61. No law enacted by the Legislature or by 229
initiative of the people shall be revived or amended by reference 230
to its title only, but the section or sections, as amended or 231
revived, shall be inserted at length. 232
IV. 233
Amend Section 72, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 234
as follows: 235
Section 72. Every Bill which shall pass both Houses shall be 236
presented to the Governor of the state. If he or she approves, he 237
or she shall sign it; but if he or she does not approve, he or she 238
shall return it, with his or her objections, to the House in which 239
it originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon its 240
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 241
reconsideration two-thirds (2/3) of that House shall agree to pass 242
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the Bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other 243
House, by which, likewise, it shall be reconsidered; and if 244
approved by two-thirds (2/3) of that House, it shall become a law; 245
but in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined 246
by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and 247
against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House 248
respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the Governor 249
within five (5) days (Sundays excepted) after it has been 250
presented to him or her, it shall become a law in like manner as 251
if he or she had signed it, unless the Legislature, by 252
adjournment, prevented its return, in which case such Bill shall 253
be a law unless the Governor shall veto it within fifteen (15) 254
days (Sundays excepted) after it is presented to him or her, and 255
such Bill shall be returned to the Legislature, with his or her 256
objections, within three (3) days after the beginning of the next 257
session of the Legislature. The provisions of this section are 258
not applicable to initiative measures approved by the people. 259
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That these proposed amendments shall 260
be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors 261
at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first 262
Monday of November 2026, as provided by Section 273 of the 263
Constitution and by general law, with the proposed amendments in 264
this resolution being voted on as one (1) amendment. 265
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That these proposed amendments shall 266
stand repealed on the day before their passage. 267
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ST: Constitution; amend to provide that the
people have the right to propose new statutes
and amend or repeal existing statutes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed 268
amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed 269
constitutional amendment provides that the people reserve to 270
themselves the right to exercise the legislative power of the 271
state to propose new laws and to amend or repeal existing laws by 272
initiative, and to approve or reject the same in an election 273
independent of the Legislature." 274