Article XIII, Alaska Constitution

Alaska Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV
Ordinances
1 • 2 • 3
Amendments

Article XIII of the Alaska Constitution is entitled Amendment and Revision. It has four sections which together lay out the process for amending the constitution. This Article lays out these methods of altering the constitution:

• The constitution can be amended via a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. Placing such a proposed amendment on the ballot must be approved by a two-thirds vote of each chamber of the Alaska State Legislature.
• The constitution can also be amended via a constitutional convention. Article XIII says that an automatic ballot referral to ask the voters of the state whether they wish to convene a statewide constitutional convention must be placed on the statewide ballot every ten years. Article XIII also allows the state legislature to call constitutional conventions whenever they wish.

Article 13 has been amended two times since the original 1956 Alaska Constitutional Convention.

Amendments to Article XIII

• Alaska Lieutenant Governor/Secretary of State Amendment (1970)
• Alaska Votes on Constitutional Amendments (1974)

Section 1

Text of Section 1: Amendments “ Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of each house of the legislature. The lieutenant governor shall prepare a ballot title and proposition summarizing each proposed amendment, and shall place them on the ballot for the next general election. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition favor the amendment, it shall be adopted. Unless otherwise provided in the amendment, it becomes effective thirty days after the certification of the election returns by the lieutenant governor. ”

Amendments

• The Alaska Lieutenant Governor/Secretary of State Amendment (1970) ballot question, approved by the voters in 1970, changed the title of the Secretary of State to Lieutenant Governor.
• The Alaska Votes on Constitutional Amendments (1974) ballot question, approved by the voters in 1974, put proposed amendments to the constitution on general election ballots.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Convention “ The legislature may call constitutional conventions at any time. ”

Section 3

Text of Section 3: Call by Referendum “ If during any ten-year period a constitutional convention has not been held, the lieutenant governor shall place on the ballot for the next general election the question: "Shall there be a Constitutional Convention?" If a majority of the votes cast on the question are in the negative, the question need not be placed on the ballot until the end of the next ten-year period. If a majority of the votes cast on the question are in the affirmative, delegates to the convention shall be chosen at the next regular statewide election, unless the legislature provides for the election of the delegates at a special election. The lieutenant governor shall issue the call for the convention. Unless other provisions have been made by law, the call shall conform as nearly as possible to the act calling the Alaska Constitutional Convention of 1955, including, but not limited to, number of members, districts, election and certification of delegates, and submission and ratification of revisions and ordinances. The appropriation provisions of the call shall be self-executing and shall constitute a first claim on the state treasury. ”

Amendments

• The Alaska Lieutenant Governor/Secretary of State Amendment (1970) ballot question, approved by the voters in 1970, changed the title of the Secretary of State to Lieutenant Governor.

Section 4

	Text of Section 4: Powers “ Constitutional conventions shall have plenary power to amend or revise the constitution, subject only to ratification by the people. No call for a constitutional convention shall limit these powers of the convention. ”

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• The Constitution of the State of Alaska
• The Alaska Constitution: A Citizen's Guide
• Creating Alaska: The Constitutional Convention

Additional reading

• Connor, George E. Connor, and Christopher W. Hammons (2008). The Constitutionalism of American States. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press.
• McBeath, Gerald A. (2011). The Alaska State Constitution. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.