Request By:
Honorable Drexell R. Davis
Secretary of State, and
Chairman, State Board of Elections
State Capitol
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky
This is in response to a letter received from Clinton H. Newman II, Assistant Secretary of State, dated February 6, in which the Attorney General is requested to furnish you with the form of the questions pertaining to the two constitutional amendments that are to be placed on the November ballot. This request is made pursuant to KRS 118.415(2).
Pursuant to Chapter 433 (Senate Bill 98) and Chapter 440 (House Bill 752) of the Acts of the 1978 General Assembly, two proposed amendments are to be submitted to the electorate at the general election to be held on November 6, 1979. Chapter 433 relates to the mode of revising the Constitution and amends Section 256 of the Constitution. Chapter 440 relates to the General Assembly and amends Sections 30, 31, 36 and 42 of the Constitution.
In accordance with the mandate of KRS 118.415(2) the Attorney General is required to state the substance of the proposed constitutional amendments to be submitted to the voters at the coming November election in the form of questions and must certify the ballot questions to the State Board of Elections for inclusion upon the November ballot.
The wording of the constitutional amendments to be certified by the State Board of Elections to the various clerks not less than fifty (50) days before the election for placement on the November ballot is as follows: CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT No. 1Shall Section 256 of the Constitution beamended to provide that not more than four (4)amendments shall be voted upon at any one time,to be submitted in such a manner that the elec-Yestors shall vote "for" or "against" each amend-ment separately, but an amendment may relateto a single subject or to related subject mat-ters and may amend or modify as many articlesNoand as many sections of the Constitution as maybe necessary and appropriate in order to accom-plish the objectives of the amendment.CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT No. 2Shall Sections 30 and 31 of the Constitu-tional be repealed and re-enacted and Sections36 and 42 of the Constitution be amended so asto: (1) Provide that members of the House ofRepresentatives and Senators shall be electedYesat the general election in even-numbered yearsfor terms of two years and four years respec-tively, said terms to begin upon the first dayNoof January of the year succeeding their elec-tion; (2) Provide that at the general electionto be held in November, 1984, and every two yearsthereafter, there shall be elected for four yearsone Senator in each Senatorial District in whichthe term of his predecessor in office will expireand for two years one Representative in each Rep-resentative District; (3) Provide that the Gen-eral Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesdayafter the first Monday in January in odd-numberedyears for a period not to exceed ten legislativedays for the purpose of electing legislativeleaders, adopting rules of procedure and theorganization of committees, and then it shalladjourn until the first Tuesday after the firstMonday in January of the following even-numberedyears at which time it shall convere in regularsession; (4) Provide that members of the legis-lature shall severally receive from the StateTreasury compensation for their services but nochange shall take effect during the session inwhich it is made; (5) Provide that no sessionof the General Assembly shall continue beyondsixty legislative days exclusive of Sundays,legal holidays or any day on which neitherHouse meets, except that no regular sessionshall extend beyond April 15 of even-numberedyears; and (6) Provide a schedule of transitionfor convening the General Assembly and theelection and terms of Representatives and Sen-ators to implement the proposed amendment.
CERTIFICATE
HONORABLE DREXELL R. DAVIS SECRETARY OF STATE, AND CHAIRMAN, STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS STATE CAPITOL FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY
Pursuant to the provisions of KRS 118.415(2), I hereby certify that the above questions contain the substance of the proposed amendments to the Constitution enacted by the 1978 General Assembly in Chapter 433 (Senate Bill 98) and Chapter 440 (House Bill 752) that are to be submitted to the electorate for their ratification or rejection at the General Election to be held on November 6, 1979.
This the 20th day of February, 1979.