Opinion ID: 1743393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Duggan v. Beermann

Text: Plaintiffs argue that this court should overrule its decision in Duggan v. Beermann, 245 Neb. 907, 515 N.W.2d 788 (1994) (holding that 1988 amendment of article III, §§ 2 and 3, to require percentage of signatures from registered voters instead of electors on ballot petitions, had repealed by implication requirement in article III, § 4, that requisite percentage of signatures be based on number of votes cast in preceding gubernatorial election). Plaintiffs contend the reversal of Duggan would result in a sufficient number of signatures on the referendum petition to suspend the operation of L.B. 126. Although not cited by plaintiffs, this issue is controlled by this court's decision in State ex rel. Stenberg v. Moore, 251 Neb. 598, 558 N.W.2d 794 (1997) (concluding that voters' rejection of 1996 initiative, which was intended to return state Constitution to pre-1988 requirement that percentage of signatures needed for ballot petitions be tied to number of votes cast for Governor in preceding election, defeated attorney general's argument that voters did not understand effect of voting for 1988 initiative to amend constitution). This court could not overrule Duggan except by ignoring the voters' clear rejection in 1996 of the construction of article III that plaintiffs now urge this court to adopt. See Moore, 251 Neb. at 606, 558 N.W.2d at 799 ([t]o now ignore the results of the vote [on the 1996 initiative] would be to deny such voters the same rights that the Attorney General seeks to protect). We find nothing in plaintiffs' argument to persuade us that Duggan, supra, was wrongly decided, and we decline plaintiffs' invitation to revisit that determination.