Pennsylvania Code › Title 4 - ADMINISTRATION › Part XVI - LEGISLATIVELY ORDERED MATERIAL › Subpart A - DEPARTMENT OF STATE › Chapter 801 - LEGISLATIVELY ORDERED MATERIAL RELATING TO PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS › Appendix I - Procedures for Receiving, Processing and Advertising Non-emergency Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(
Editor's Note
: Under section 801(b)(4) of
					 The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §
											201(b)(4)), the Department
					 of State established Procedures for Receiving, Processing and Advertising
					 Non-emergency Proposed Constitutional Amendments as set forth in Appendix I.
					 This document is published under
					 45 Pa.C.S. §
											702(7) (relating to contents
					 of
Pennsylvania Code
) as a document general and permanent in
					 nature which shall be codified in the
Pennsylvania
					 Code
.)
Introduction
Article XI, § 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution
					 (Article XI) requires the Secretary of the Commonwealth to publish proposed
					 amendments to the Pennsylvania Constitution. Article XI states that if an
					 amendment is agreed to by the majority of the members of both the Senate and
					 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause the
					 proposed amendment to be published three months before the next general
					 election (November election in an even numbered year), in at least two
					 newspapers in every county in which such newspapers shall be published; and if,
					 in the General Assembly next afterwards chosen, such proposed amendment or
					 amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each
					 House, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall cause the same again to be
					 published in the same manner and the proposed amendment will be submitted to
					 the voters as prescribed by the General Assembly.
Article XI imposes a mandatory duty on the Secretary of the
					 Commonwealth to advertise amendments proposed by the General Assembly. Failure
					 to advertise in strict compliance with Article XI is fatal to the amendment
					 process.
Supplemental to the requirements enumerated in Article XI,
					 the Pennsylvania Election Code and Administrative Code of 1929 (as amended)
					 impose statutory obligations upon the Secretary related to the constitutional
					 amendment process.
Thus, the primary responsibilities of the Department of
					 State in the constitutional amendment process are:
1 Advertise the proposed amendments in newspapers after
					 each passage;
2 Draft the ballot question to be put forth to the voters
					 on second passage; and
3 Administer election on the ballot question and certify
					 results.
Purpose and Objectives
Department of State (DOS) staff must initiate, coordinate,
					 monitor, and verify publication of constitutional amendments to ensure timely
					 and proper advertisement of constitutional amendments in accordance with the
					 requirements of Article XI. This document outlines the process that DOS will
					 use to effectuate its duties under Article XI, the Administrative Code and the
					 Election Code pertaining to constitutional amendments.
Background
Amendments to the Pennsylvania Constitution may be proposed
					 in either the Senate or the House of Representatives but must pass in both by a
					 majority vote of the members elected. Pursuant to Article XI of the
					 Pennsylvania Constitution, a proposed constitutional amendment must be passed
					 in identical form in two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly before
					 the amendment can be submitted to the voters for approval.
First Passage
After the first passage of a proposed constitutional
					 amendment, the Secretary of the Commonwealth is required to have the proposed
					 amendment published once in each of the three months (August, September and
					 October) prior to a November general election (even numbered years) in at least
					 two newspapers in every county. The advertisements do not need to be published
					 on the same date, but each advertisement should be published on or before the
					 day of the month on which the November election will occur. For example, if the
					 November election is on November 7th, the advertisements should be published on
					 or before August 7th, September 7th, and October 7th.
Second Passage
The next succeeding session, the General Assembly may at
					 any time pass a joint resolution proposing the identical constitutional
					 amendment. The General Assembly shall direct the Secretary of the Commonwealth
					 at what election to present the proposed amendment to the voters in the form of
					 a ballot question, so long as the primary or election in which voters will vote
					 on the ballot question is at least three months after second passage. After
					 second passage, the proposed amendment, ballot question, and plain language
					 statement must be advertised once in each of the three months prior to the
					 election at which the amendment is to be voted for, which could be either a
					 municipal (odd numbered years) or general (even numbered years) or primary
					 election. The amendment is voted on by the entire electorate. If passed by a
					 majority vote, the amendment becomes part of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The
					 advertisements do not need to be published on the same date, but each
					 advertisement should be published on or before the day of the month on which
					 the primary or election will occur. For example, if the question is to be
					 presented to the voters at a May 17th Primary, the advertisements should be
					 published on or before February 17th, March 17th, and April 17th.
Pre- and Post-Advertisement Notification to the
					 General Assembly and Legislative Reference Bureau
Under Section 801 of the Administrative Code of 1929 (as
					 amended),
					 71
					 P.S. §
											271, the Secretary of the
					 Commonwealth must provide written notice to the following individuals of the
					 date that the advertisements required under Article XI are scheduled to be
					 completed for a proposed amendment:
1 Every member of the General Assembly;
2 The Secretary of the Senate;
3 The Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives;
4 The Parliamentarian of the House of Representatives;
					 and
5 The Legislative Reference Bureau.
The written notice must be given no later than 14 days
					 before the date on which publication is scheduled to begin, or as soon as
					 practicable.
Likewise, after the publication process is complete, the
					 Secretary of the Commonwealth must certify to the above referenced officials
					 that the requirements of Article XI have been completed. The Secretary is
					 required to certify no later than 14 days after the last advertisement
					 occurs.
Ballot Question and Plain Language
					 Statement
Under Section
					 201.1 of the Election Code, when a
					 proposed constitutional amendment is submitted to the voters in referendum, the
					 Attorney General is required to prepare a statement ''in plain English'' that
					 indicates ''the purpose, limitations and effects of the ballot question on the
					 people of the Commonwealth.'' See
					 25
					 P.S. §
											2621.1. The Secretary of the
					 Commonwealth drafts the ballot question itself with approval by the Attorney
					 General. See
					 25
					 P.S. §
											2755. The Secretary then includes
					 the ballot question and the plain language statement in the constitutional
					 amendment advertisement. See
					 25
					 P.S. §
											2621.1. The ballot question and
					 the plain language statement is sent to each of the county boards of elections
					 as part of the notice of elections published not earlier than ten (10) days nor
					 later than three (3) days before the primary or election. See
					 25
					 P.S. §§
											2621.1,
					 3041. The county boards of
					 elections are also required to post copies of the ballot question and plain
					 English statement at the polling places and in specimen ballots. See
					 25
					 P.S. §
											2621.1.
Emergency Amendments under Article XI, §
					 1(a)-(b)
Article XI also delineates a truncated process for
					 amendment ''in the event a major emergency threatens or is about to threaten
					 the Commonwealth and if the safety or welfare of the Commonwealth requires
					 prompt amendment'' to the Pennsylvania Constitution.
An emergency amendment subject to the process set forth in
					 Article XI, § 1(a)(b) only needs to be considered and passed once by the
					 General Assembly, as opposed to the two consecutive session passages required
					 for non emergency amendments.
Amendments under subsections a and b of Article XI may be
					 proposed in either a regular or special legislative session, but they must be
					 agreed upon by two thirds of the members of each the Senate and House of
					 Representatives.
Once the General Assembly passes the proposed amendment,
					 DOS must promptly advertise the proposed amendment in two newspapers of general
					 circulation in every county.
The proposed amendment can be put to the voters at any time
					 at least one month after it is passed by the General Assembly.
Process terminology and references
Term Reference
DOS
Department of State
SOC
Secretary of the Commonwealth
DDS
Designated Deputy Secretary
DSEC
Deputy Secretary for Elections &
								  Commissions
OCP
DOS Office of Communications and Press
OCC
DOS Office of Chief Counsel
BE
DOS Bureau of Elections
BCNL
DOS Bureau of Commissions, Notaries and
								  Legislation
OLA
DOS Office of Legislative Affairs
Advertising Materials
1) Preamble
2) Text of Joint Resolution
3) Ballot question (only applicable on second
								  passage)
4) Plain language statement
XO
DOS Executive Office
EOA
Executive Office Assistant (Assistant to the
								  SOC)
OGC
Governor's Office of General Counsel
GO
Office of the Governor
OAG
Office of Attorney General
OP
Office of Policy
Department of State Employees Covered by this
					 Procedure
Designated Deputy Secretary (DDS)
Pursuant to Section 801 of the Administrative Code of 1929
					 (as amended),
					 71
					 P.S. §
											271, the Secretary of the
					 Commonwealth must designate a deputy secretary to oversee implementation and
					 training on the procedure for advertising constitutional amendments. The
					 Secretary shall so designate the pertinent deputy in writing, and a copy of the
					 designation can be obtained by contacting the Executive Office Assistant or
					 referring to the Executive Office Share Point folder entitled ''Joint
					 Resolutions.''
The Secretary should update this designation at the
					 following occurrences and intervals:
* When a new Secretary is appointed,
* Upon departure of a deputy who has been designated
					 responsibility under this policy, and
* As otherwise necessary to reflect a change in
					 designation.
Other Owners and Stakeholders
The following owners (white boxes) and stakeholders (shaded
					 boxes) share responsibility for the publication of the process. Unless
					 otherwise noted the documents should be shared with the head of the
					 bureau.
Click here to view
					 image
.
Process
The Office of Legislative Affairs tracks and monitors all
					 legislation impacting DOS, including legislation proposing amendments to the
					 Pennsylvania Constitution. A proposed constitutional amendment, when agreed
					 upon by the Senate and the House of Representatives, is filed with DOS in the
					 form of a Joint Resolution.
The outline, below, sets forth the tasks and parties
					 responsible for completing each. Each action item has been assigned an owner
					 who is accountable to the team for ensuring completion of the action item. The
					 owner is responsible for working with and/or obtaining the approval of those
					 identified to be consulted for each action item. Where the identified ''Owner''
					 of each action item is an office, bureau or program area, the accountable
					 individual is the manager responsible for oversight of that office, bureau, or
					 program area, unless said manager has designated another employee from within
					 that office, bureau, or program area to serve as proxy in an email to the
					 DDS.
Pre-passage tasks
Tracking proposed legislation
The Department's Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA), is
					 responsible for tracking legislation proposing one or more constitutional
					 amendments during the time the legislation is under consideration by the
					 General Assembly.
OLA notifies the XO by email (SOC, DDS, OCC, and DSEC) when
					 a Joint Resolution crosses from one chamber to another, passes both chambers,
					 and is signed by both chambers in the General Assembly.
In addition to OLA, the Designated Deputy Secretary will
					 assign others to monitor joint resolutions introduced in the General Assembly
					 through Pennsylvania Legislative Services.
Maintaining contact lists
The following contact lists are utilized to notify parties
					 in this process. They should be reviewed for accuracy and updated bi-annually,
					 and if possible, upon information regarding separation/hiring:
* BCNL Legislative contact list
* Internal Constitutional Amendment contact list
Post-passage process
ACTION
OWNER
CONSULTED
1.
The General Assembly delivers the signed joint
								  resolution to BCNL, and BNCL immediately assigns the Joint Resolution # and
								  date stamps original document.
BNCL
2.
BCNL emails legislative contacts to provide
								  assignment of joint resolution number.
BNCL
3.
BCNL logs the joint resolution in the legislative
								  log, prepares and retains a certified copy, routes original copy of the joint
								  resolution to Executive Office (SOC, DDS, and DSEC) via the Executive Office
								  Assistant (EOA).
BNCL
4.
The EOA logs receipt of the joint resolution
								  electronically, scans the joint resolution, uploads it to the internal tracking
								  system for joint resolutions passed by the General Assembly.
EOA
5.
The EOA transmits (via email) the Assignment of
								  Joint Resolution Message to all internal contacts.
EOA
6.
The EOA provides the original joint
DDS,
resolution to the DDS who acknowledges receipt of
								  the joint resolution and returns it to the EOA. The EOA retains the original
								  joint resolution.
EOA
7.
No later than 10 days of receipt of the joint
								  resolution, or sooner depending on the circumstances, DDS initiates a kickoff
								  meeting for internal staff (OLA, BE, BNCL, OCC, BFO, DSEC, OP, OCP, and SOC) to
								  discuss a timeline (including both internal and external deadlines) and
								  requirements of advertising the proposed constitutional amendment. After the
								  meeting, DDS works with the EOA to update the internal tracker with pertinent
								  internal deadlines.
DDS
8.
Promptly after the kickoff meeting, OCP submits
								  the required form to Commonwealth Media Services (CMS). CMS notifies the
								  department's contracted advertising vendor to schedule meeting between all
								  parties and the DOS team (OCP, BFO, DDS, OCC, and DSEC) to discuss requirements
								  and deadlines for advertising the proposed constitutional amendment.
The vendor will provide a proposed schedule for
								  advertising. Subsequently, the vendor will provide a list of publications and a
								  quote for advertising services based on information provided during the
								  meeting. CMS will provide, in writing, an approval for BFO to proceed with
								  executing a purchase order to advertising vendor.
OCP
BFO, OCP, BE, OCC
9.
BE reviews and approve list of proposed
								  newspapers.
BE
OCC, DSEC, DDS, and SOC
10.
BFO obtains a quote from the vendor and reviews
								  it to ensure that DOS has funding in its current budget available for
								  advertisement. If funding is unavailable, BFO sends a letter for Executive
								  Authorization to the Governor's Budget Office (GBO) to request additional funds
								  to advertise.
BFO
11.
DSEC drafts advertisement preamble and submits to
								  OCC for review.
DSEC
OCC
12.
DSEC obtains signoff from DDS and SOC.
DSEC
DDS and SOC
13.
DSEC forwards the approved preamble with text of
								  proposed amendments to BFO.
DSEC
STEPS 14 THROUGH 16: SECOND PASSAGE
								  ONLY
14.
DDS drafts the question to be presented to voters
								  on the balloting materials at the next election.
DDS-----
BE, OCC, DSEC, SOC, GO, and OGC-----
15.
DDS obtains the necessary internal approvals of
								  the question from DOS Executive Office, Governor's Office, and OGC.
DDS-----
OCC-----
16.
OCC submits ballot question to OAG for approval
								  and requests the plain language statement from OAG that will accompany the
								  proposed constitutional amendment. Upon approval of the ballot question and
								  receipt of the plain language statement, OCC forwards final documents to
								  BFO.
OCC
ACTION
OWNER
CONSULTED
17.
BFO provides final copies of all documents
								  received from DSEC and/or OCC to established Commonwealth vendors for Spanish
								  and traditional Chinese translation (as currently required for certain counties
								  under Section 203 of the VRA). Translated materials are also professionally
								  verified and also reviewed by community verifiers in consultation with
								  Community Engagement (where time permits). Changes recommended by community
								  verifiers should be vetted with professional translators.
BFO
Community Engagement, OCC
18.
Once translated documents are finalized, BFO
								  transmits the following Advertising Materials to the contracted advertising
								  vendor and requests draft ad copy for publication: * Preamble; * Text of the
								  Joint Resolution; * Text of the approved Ballot Question (2nd passage only); *
								  Text of the approved Plain Language Statement (2nd passage only); * Text of
Paid for with PA Taxpayer Dollars
disclaimer; and *
								  Translations of the Advertising Materials.
BFO
BE
19.
BFO receives ad copy templates (English, Spanish,
								  and Chinese) from the advertising vendor and obtains review and approval of the
								  templates from internal team.
BFO
OCC, DSEC, OCP
20.
BFO communicates approval of the ad copy
								  templates and then receives sized ad copy for each publication from the
								  advertising vendor.
BFO
21.
DSEC coordinates review teams to review and
								  approve sized ad copy for each publication as provided by the advertising
								  vendor.
DSEC
OCC, BE, OCP
22.
No later than 14 days prior to the date of
								  publication, OLA transmits notice from SOS to all of the following of the dates
								  on which publication in newspapers will be completed: (1) each member of the PA
								  Senate; (2) each member of the PA House; (3) the Secretary of the Senate; (4)
								  the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives; and (5) the Parliamentarian of
								  the House of Representatives.
OLA
OCC, SOC, DDS, DSEC
23.
No later than 14 days prior to the date of
								  publication, OCC notifies the Legislative Reference Bureau of the dates on
								  which publication in newspapers will be completed.
OCC
OLA, SOC, DDS, DSEC
24.
OCP posts electronic copies of English, Spanish,
								  and Chinese ad copy on DOS website.
OCP
BE
25.
BFO tracks progress of advertisements and
								  collects and stores 1) proofs of publication and 2) tear sheets as they are
								  received by the advertising vendor.
BFO
BE, OCC
26.
Advertising Materials published for first time in
								  approved newspapers
DOS
27.
Advertising Materials published for second time
								  in approved newspapers
DOS
28.
Advertising Materials published for third time in
								  approved newspapers.
DOS
29.
BFO promptly notifies OCC, BEN, OLA, DSEC, DDS,
								  and SOC if any newspaper failed to properly publish the advertisement. In the
								  event of such a failure, obtain form affidavits (see Appendices) from both the
								  newspaper and the advertising vendor documenting that DOS provided the
								  advertisement in ample time.
BFO
OCC, OLA, DSEC, DDS, SOC
30.
BFO obtains invoice for payment of advertising
								  services submitted by vendor after each round of publication and processes
								  payment.
BFO
DDS, SOC
31.
Within 7-10 days of each publication, BFO obtains
								  list from advertising vendor confirming actual dates of publication.
BFO
OCC
32.
No later than 14 days after the last
								  advertisement, SOC via OLA certifies to all of the following of the dates on
								  which publication in newspapers was completed: (1) each member of the PA
								  Senate; (2) each member of the PA House; (3) the Secretary of the Senate; (4)
								  the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives; and (5) the Parliamentarian of
								  the House of Representatives.
OLA
OCC, SOC, DDS, DSEC
33.
No later than 14 days after the last
								  advertisement, SOC via OCC certifies to the Legislative Reference Bureau of the
								  dates on which publication in newspapers was completed.
OCC
OLA, SOC, DDS, DSEC
STEPS 34 THROUGH 39: SECOND PASSAGE
								  ONLY
34.
If second passage, BE includes in the ballot
								  certification to the county boards of elections in the form of the ballot
								  question and the Plain Language Statement in accordance with timing
								  requirements for ballot certification under state and federal law.
BE
OCC
35.
BE compiles and prepares the election returns
								  pertaining to the proposed constitutional amendment for certification by the
								  SOC.
BE
OCC, SOC
36.
The SOC certifies the results of the election on
								  the proposed constitutional amendment.
SOC
BE
37.
OCC prepares a proclamation for the Governor's
								  signature indicating whether or not the proposed amendment has been adopted by
								  the voters. (See Appendix E)
OCC
EOA, BE
38.
The SOC delivers the certified results for the
								  proposed constitutional amendment to the Governor and obtains the Governor's
								  signature on the proclamation.
SOC
OCC
39.
OCC delivers the original proclamation to the
								  Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) for publication in the next volume of the
								  Laws of Pennsylvania (i.e., Pamphlet Laws) and the
PA
								  Bulletin
. OCC returns a time stamped copy of the proclamation to DOS
								  for the agency's files. OCC follows hard copy delivery with an email
								  notification to the LRB's Code & Bulletin Office and the LRB's Editing and
								  Publishing Office, including the Word version of the proclamation with the
								  email.
OCC
BCNL
40.
DDS retains all records related to the
								  publication of the Constitutional Amendment in accordance with the records
								  retention schedule.
DDS
EOA, OCC, BFO
Training and Questions Regarding this
					 Procedure
The DDS must ensure that all owners and their designated
					 staff members are trained at the time of onboarding and at least once annually
					 thereafter on these procedures.
At the completion of training, all staff members will
					 understand:
* How to identify a joint resolution
* How to track the progress of a proposed joint
					 resolution
* How to assign a joint resolution number
* Who is responsible and accountable for each task
* How to track the joint resolution through completion of
					 every task
Specific staff members with specialized tasks will also
					 receive training relating to:
* How to track proposed legislation
* How to assign a joint resolution number and route it to
					 the Executive Office and DDS publication and financing for a joint
					 resolution
[odot ]
Publication requirements
[odot ]
Process for selecting newspapers for publication
[odot ]
Rules regarding language access
* The process for certifying a proposed constitutional
					 amendment
* The process for certifying the results of the election on
					 a proposed constitutional
* Reviewing ad copy
Employees who have questions related to this process and
					 these procedures should address them to the Designated Deputy Secretary
					 (DDS).
Appendices
A. Sample Constitutional Amendment Advertisement (First
					 Passage)
B. Sample Constitutional Amendment Advertisement (Second
					 Passage)
C. Form Affidavit for Completion by Newspaper for Missed
					 Publication
D. Form Affidavit for Completion by Advertising Vendor for
					 Missed Publication
E. Sample Proclamation of the Governor
###
Version History:
Version
Date
Description
1.0
April 2021
Initial document release
1.1
July 2021
Minor revisions
2.0
August 2022
Act 86 of 2022 update