GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

FIRST EXTRA SESSION 2018

 

HOUSE BILL 3

RATIFIED BILL

 

 

AN ACT to clarify the designations to appear on the ballot for constitutional amendments and other referenda.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 163A‑1114(h) reads as rewritten:

"(h)      Order of Precedence for Referenda. – TheWithout referencing a numerical order or other reference of order by category or within a category, the referendum questions to be voted on shall be arranged on the official ballot in the following order:

(1)        Proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution, in the chronological order in which the proposals were approved by the General Assembly. Proposed amendments shall be designated by only the short caption provided by the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission under Article 4A of Chapter 147 of the General Statutes.phrase "Constitutional Amendment" prior to setting forth the referendum question.

(2)        Other referenda to be voted on by all voters in the State, in the chronological order in which the proposals were approved by the General Assembly.

(3)        Referenda to be voted on by fewer than all the voters in the State, in the chronological order of the acts by which the referenda were properly authorized."

SECTION 1.(b)  This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to ballots used in the 2018 general election and thereafter. No numerical order or other reference of order for referenda, by category or within a category, shall appear on the 2018 general election ballot. Any captions adopted by the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission pursuant to G.S. 147‑54.10(a) prior to this bill becoming law are null and void and shall not appear on the ballot used in the 2018 general election.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 147‑54.10(a) reads as rewritten:

"(a)      At least 75 days before an election in which a proposed amendment to the Constitution, or a revised or new Constitution, is to be voted on, the Commission shall prepare an explanation of the amendment, revision, or new Constitution in simple and commonly used language. The explanation shall include a short caption reflecting the contents,that shall not include a numerical or other reference of order, to be used on the ballot and the printed summary."

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 24th day of July, 2018.

 

 

                                                                    s/  Philip E. Berger

                                                                         President Pro Tempore of the Senate

 

 

                                                                    s/  Tim Moore

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

 

 

 

 

                                                                        _____________________________________

                                                                         Roy Cooper

                                                                         Governor

 

 

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2018