Amendment 3 would replace the existing method for deciding whether a proposed constitutional amendment should be voted on a) by the voters of the affected local community only, or b) by the voters of the entire state. Currently, that decision is made by the Local Constitutional Amendment Commission, which is composed of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Attorney General, and Secretary of State.

For your information, a proposed constitutional amendment first must be passed by a three-fifths vote of each house of the Legislature. To become part of the State Constitution, the amendment must then be ratified by a vote of the people on an election ballot. All constitutional amendments must be decided by the voters of the entire state unless a) the proposed amendment affects only a single county or city, and b) there was no dissenting vote in either house of the Legislature. If both of those conditions are not met, the vote on the amendment will be limited to only the voters of the affected area, and only those voters will have the amendment on their election ballot. After the Legislature passes a proposed amendment, the Local Constitutional Amendment Commission makes the final decision on whether that amendment is eligible for a local vote. If the Commission rules that the amendment is not eligible for a local vote, it will be placed on the ballot statewide.

If a majority of voters vote “Yes” on Amendment 3, the Local Constitutional Amendment Commission will be abolished, and the final decision on whether a proposed constitutional amendment should be voted on locally or statewide will instead be made by the Legislature. After the Legislature votes to pass a proposed amendment, each house of the Legislature would then be required to pass a resolution deciding whether the proposed amendment will be voted on locally or statewide. If any single legislator votes against that resolution, the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot statewide.

If a majority of voters vote “No” on Amendment 3, the existing method of deciding whether a proposed constitutional amendment should be voted on locally or statewide will continue to operate.