Opinion ID: 2621965
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Former NRS 295.056(3)'s revival

Text: This court has previously recognized that when a statute is declared unconstitutional, it has no effect and the prior governing statute is revived. [51] An unconstitutional act is not law, and thus, can neither confer a right or immunity nor operate to supersede any existing valid law. [52] Because we have declared the current version of NRS 295.056(3) unconstitutional, the former version of that provision remains in effect. The former version of NRS 295.056(3) required that initiatives seeking to amend the constitution be submitted for signature verification not later than the third Tuesday in June. [53] This year, the third Tuesday in June was June 17, 2008. Accordingly, We the People had until June 17 to submit signatures to the county clerks for verification. Recognizing that, We the People gathered additional signatures and submitted them to the Clark and Washoe County clerks on June 17, 2008, requesting that these signatures, along with the signatures that it previously submitted be accepted for signature verification as outlined in NRS Chapter 293. Nevertheless, the Secretary of State and Nevadans for Nevada insist that even if NRS 295.056(3) is unconstitutional, this court has no authority to grant the requested reliefrequiring the Secretary of State to accept all signatures submitted for verification by June 17  because Article 19, Section 2(4) prohibits an initiative's circulation after it is submitted for signature verification and NRS 295.056(5) requires that initiative documents be submitted to the various county clerks on the same day. The Secretary of State's and Nevadans for Nevada's position lacks merit, however. Article 19, Section 2(4) states that a petition's circulation shall cease on the day [it] is filed with the Secretary of State or such other date as may be prescribed for [signature verification], whichever is earliest. [54] Thus, since June 17 was the validly prescribed submission date for signature verification, We the People had until that date to circulate its petition. With respect to the Secretary of State's and Nevadans for Nevada's argument that relief is precluded because the signatures must be submitted for verification on the same date to each of the county clerks under NRS 295.056(5), a statutory provision will not be enforced when to do so would infringe upon rights guaranteed by our state constitution. [55] Here, We the People was exercising a constitutional right that we have recognized as one of the basic powers enumerated in this state's constitution, deserving of our every effort to preserve. [56] Further, We the People had a constitutional right, under Article 19, Sections 2(4) and 3(2) of Nevada's Constitution, to circulate its initiative for signatures until June 17 because the May 20 statutory submission deadline was unconstitutional. We the People's reasonable attempt to comply with the earlier submission deadline, later determined invalid, cannot now be used to defeat its constitutional right to petition, especially when the invalidity of the submission deadline was unclear. [57] Accordingly, under these circumstances, We the People properly circulated its initiative and submitted additional signatures by the constitutionally valid submission deadline and thereby permissibly proceeded with the NRS Chapter 293 verification process for all signatures submitted by the valid June 17 deadline, which we declared should be properly accepted by the Secretary of State for verification.