Opinion ID: 1743393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Impermissible Advisory Vote

Text: Plaintiffs also contend the district court erred in failing to determine that dissolving Class I school districts before the referendum election would result in an impermissible advisory vote. The only case cited by plaintiffs in support of this argument is State ex rel. Brant v. Beermann, 217 Neb. 632, 350 N.W.2d 18 (1984). In State ex rel. Brant, this court refused to issue a writ of mandamus requiring the Secretary of State to place an initiative measure on the ballot. If passed, the initiative would have stated that the people of Nebraska favored a nuclear freeze and would have required the Governor to forward this statement of position to officials in the U.S. and Soviet Union governments. Because the proposed initiative was without the force of law, this court determined the measure was not a proper subject for initiative. State ex rel. Brant is not applicable to these facts. The power of referendum is the people's reservation of power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act, item, section, or part of any act passed by the Legislature. Neb. Const. art. III, § 1. If the voters reject L.B. 126 at the referendum election, the act will stand repealed. See Klosterman v. Marsh, 180 Neb. 506, 143 N.W.2d 744 (1966) (stating that through power of referendum, people may repeal enactments of Legislature). To repeal is to rescind or abrogate an existing law. See Black's Law Dictionary 1325 (8th Ed.2004). When the people invoke the right to a referendum, they are exercising their coequal legislative power to expressly approve or repeal the enactments of the Legislature. See, Klosterman, supra ; State ex rel. Stenberg v. Moore, 258 Neb. 199, 210-11, 602 N.W.2d 465, 474 (1999) (stating that the Legislature and the electorate are concurrently equal in rank as sources of legislation through power of initiative). In no sense can such an act be considered advisory to the Legislature or without the force of law. This assignment of error is without merit.