Opinion ID: 1991746
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: workable, enforceable plan

Text: Under the Jaksha v. State analysis, the first and second factors examine whether, absent the invalid portion, a workable and independently enforceable plan remains. The rule is that when invalid portions [of a statute] are so interwoven with the rest of the act that the act may not be operative with the void portions eliminated, the whole act fails. State ex rel. Douglas v. Herrington, 206 Neb. 516, 524, 294 N.W.2d 330, 334 (1980). Accord City of Scottsbluff v. Tiemann, 185 Neb. 256, 175 N.W.2d 74 (1970). If part of a statute is held unconstitutional, the remainder must likewise be held unconstitutional unless the unconstitutional portion can be separated from the provision, leaving the remaining portion or portions independently enforceable. Fitzgerald v. Kuppinger, 163 Neb. 286, 295, 79 N.W.2d 547, 554 (1956). The drafters of Measure # 408 interwove term limits applicable to federal offices with term limits applicable to state offices. The petition purported to amend four existing sections of the Constitution and to add four new sections. In amending the sections of the Constitution dealing with the terms of office for legislators, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, and various other elected officials, the petition drafters incorporated by reference the proposed constitutional amendment, article XV, § 20, pertaining to federal offices. See text of petition, article III, § 8; article IV, § 3; and article VII, § 15. As enacted, the amendments pertaining to state offices continue to incorporate by reference the constitutional amendment relating to congressional offices. However, under U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 1842, 131 L.Ed.2d 881 (1995), we have declared article XV, § 20, to be void. Thus, the constitutional amendments imposing term limits upon state offices expressly intertwine the clearly unconstitutional language of article XV, § 20, with the amendments relating to state offices. After article XV, § 20, is stricken in its entirety, are the remaining amendments independently workable and enforceable? If we were to strike all references to article XV, § 20, from the amendments relating to state offices, those amendments might become more intelligible than as written. In fact, the drafters of Measure # 408 were unable to explain what they hoped to accomplish by incorporating congressional term limits in amendments relating to the Legislature, executive offices, et cetera. Only the last sentence of article XV, § 20, has any possible relevance to the amendments imposing term limits on state offices, since that sentence provides a grandfather clause for incumbents. Appellees argue that the references to article XV, § 20, were merely clerical errors in an initiative petition and that the references should be disregarded. Whether the appellees would wish us to disregard the grandfather clause as well was not argued. The purpose of the Jaksha v. State severability analysis is to save the constitutional portions of a workable, independently enforceable statutory plan after a portion of the plan has been found unconstitutional. The severability analysis has not been used to revise careless drafting or to correct clerical errors.