Andrea R. MEYER and David Fidanque, Respondents on Review, v. Bill BRADBURY, Secretary of State for the State of Oregon, Petitioner on Review, and David E. DELK, Petitioner on Review.
CC 04C20669; CA A127935; SC S53693, SC S53840
Supreme Court of Oregon
September 7, 2006
341 Or. 288 | 142 P.3d 1031
DE MUNIZ, C. J.
Argued and submitted August 29, decision of Court of Appeals reversed; judgment of circuit court affirmed September 7, 2006. Consolidated for Decision.
Charles F. Hinkle, Portland, argued the cause for respondents on review. With him on the briefs was ACLU Foundation of Oregon, Inc.
John DiLorenzo, Jr. and Gregory A. Chaimov, Portland, filed briefs on behalf of amici curiae Center To Protect Free Speech, Inc., and Fred VanNatta.
Thomas M. Christ, Portland, filed an amicus curiae brief.
DE MUNIZ, C. J.
Durham, J., dissented and filed an opinion.
Plaintiffs brought this action to enjoin the Secretary of State from placing on the November 2006 general election ballot an initiative—Initiative Petition 8 (2006) (IP 8)—that would amend the Oregon Constitution to permit the state to regulate campaign contributions and expenditures. Plaintiffs asserted that, as proposed, the initiative contained two or more constitutional amendments that, under the separate-vote requirement set out in
We take the relevant facts from the Court of Appeals opinion:
“Defendant Delk, the chief petitioner for IP 8, gathered the requisite 25 elector signatures and submitted IP 8 to defendant Secretary of State for review. Defendant Secretary of State accepted comments on IP 8, including one from plaintiffs, who objected to IP 8 on the ground that it violates the separate-vote requirement of
Article XVII, section 1 . Defendant Secretary of State disagreed and engaged the Attorney General to draft a ballot title for IP 8. Defendant Secretary of State received no objections to the form of the ballot title and subsequently approved IP 8 for circulation.“Plaintiffs then brought this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against defendant Secretary of State, again arguing that he should not have approved IP 8 for circulation, on the ground that it violates the separate-vote requirement. Defendant Delk intervened in the action and
raised several affirmative defenses, including lack of standing and failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Defendant Delk also joined defendant Secretary of State in asserting that IP 8 does not violate the separate-vote requirement of Article XVII, section 1 . All parties agreed that there were no disputed issues of fact, and each moved for summary judgment. The trial court denied plaintiffs’ motion, granted defendants‘, and entered judgment accordingly.”
As noted, plaintiffs appealed that judgment. In the decision that followed, the Court of Appeals held that (1) under this court‘s decision in Foster v. Clark, 309 Or 464, 790 P2d 1 (1990), initiative challenges based on the separate-vote requirement properly could be brought before an election, Meyer, 205 Or App at 301-03; (2) plaintiffs possessed the necessary standing to bring their action, id. at 304; and (3) to the extent that plaintiffs were required to exhaust their administrative remedies before initiating their action, they had done so in this case. Id. at 306.
Turning to the merits, the Court of Appeals then examined the text of IP 8, the full text of which is as follows:
“Be it enacted by the People of the State of Oregon, there is added an
Article II, Section 24, of the Constitution of Oregon , as follows:“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, the people through the initiative process, or the Legislative Assembly by a three-fourths vote of both Houses, may enact and amend laws to prohibit or limit contributions and expenditures, of any type or description, to influence the outcome of any election.”2
To determine whether IP 8 violated the separate-vote requirement of
Ultimately, the Court of Appeals concluded that IP 8 proposed two or more substantive changes to the Oregon Constitution that were not closely related. To reach that conclusion, the Court of Appeals viewed IP 8 as two sets of proposed changes to the Oregon Constitution: one that would amend the right to freedom of expression set out in
“The first proposed change is straightforward. [The initiative] would create an exception to
Article I, section 8 , for ‘laws to prohibit or limit contributions and expenditures, of any type or description, to influence the outcome of any election.’ Under IP 8, both the people, through the initiative process, and the legislature may enact such laws.”4
Respecting the second change, however, the court found the task more difficult:
“The proposed change to
Article IV, section 25 , is more complicated in that it would impact legislative power in several distinct ways. IP 8 provides that ‘the Legislative Assembly by a three-fourths vote of both Houses, may enact and amend laws to prohibit or limit contributions and expenditures, of any type or description, to influence the outcome of any election.’ Thus, under IP 8, the legislature would be prohibited from passing such laws, except by a three-fourths majority. It would also be prohibited from amending any such legislation that it passed, except by a three-fourths majority. Finally, it would be prohibited from amending any such legislation that was adopted by the people through the initiative process, except by a three-fourths majority. As an example, under IP 8, the people could adoptlegislation (by a simple majority under the initiative process) prohibiting campaign contributions, and the legislature would be powerless to amend that legislation, except by a three-fourths majority. “We cannot say that the proposed change to
Article IV, section 25 —which would have the profound effect of shifting the balance of power from the legislature to the people, through the initiative process, in matters related to campaign finance—is closely related to the change carving out an exception toArticle I, section 8 , for laws that prohibit or limit contributions and expenditures to influence the outcome of an election. We therefore conclude that IP 8 violates the separate-vote requirement inArticle XVII, section 1 .”
Id. at 308-09 (emphasis added). As a result, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court‘s judgment. Both the Secretary of State and intervenor sought review of that decision, which we allowed.
On review, intervenor reiterates his position on several preliminary matters. Intervenor first argues, as he did before the Court of Appeals, that the preenactment status of IP 8 renders the controversy nonjusticiable and that plaintiffs lack standing to bring the present action because they failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. The Court of Appeals found both those arguments unavailing. For the reasons stated in the Court of Appeals opinion, we agree with that court‘s assessment of intervenor‘s arguments regarding justiciability and standing and decline to examine those particular issues further.5
The Secretary of State and intervenor also argue that the supermajority rule that IP 8 would add to
As noted,
“When two or more [constitutional] amendments shall be submitted in the manner aforesaid to the voters of this state at the same election, they shall be so submitted that each amendment shall be voted on separately.”
In Armatta, this court characterized that provision as setting out a “separate-vote” requirement for constitutional amendments that focused “both upon the proposed change to the constitution, as well as the procedural form of submitted amendments.” 327 Or at 274.
Nearly 30 jurisdictions have separate-vote provisions in their constitutions that are similar to Oregon‘s. Most of those jurisdictions have concluded that the provision should be interpreted similarly to the “single-subject” provisions set out in their respective state constitutions.6 See, e.g., Californians For An Open Primary v. McPherson, 38 Cal 4th 735, 763, 134 P3d 299 (2006) (stating principle). Some of those courts expressly interpret the single-subject provision “in an accommodating and lenient manner.” Id. at 764. Having done so, they conclude that, like the single-subject requirement, their constitution‘s separate-vote provision:
“requires only a showing that the challenged provisions are reasonably germane to a common theme, purpose, or subject. The separate-vote provision does not impose a stricter standard requiring a showing of ‘close’ or ‘functional’ relatedness.”
In Oregon, however, the separate-vote requirement found in
What the court only implied in that passage in Armatta, however, it has made explicit elsewhere. For example, this court observed in State v. Stoneman, 323 Or 536, 542, 920 P2d 535 (1996):
“It is axiomatic that, among the various interests that the government of this state seeks to protect and promote, the interests represented by the state constitution are paramount to legislative ones.”
(Emphasis added.) In our view, that hierarchy of law always must be acknowledged and respected. Consistently with that view, this court expressly has held that Oregon‘s separate-vote provision—which applies to only constitutional amendments—imposes a narrower requirement on the act of amending the constitution than does its counterpart, the single-subject rule, which applies equally to statutory as well as constitutional measures. Armatta, 327 Or at 276. To implement that narrower requirement, we do not search simply for a unifying thread to create a common theme, thought, or purpose from a melange of proposed constitutional changes. Instead, we inquire whether, if adopted, a proposal would make two or more changes to the constitution that are substantive and are not closely related. If so, the proposal violates the separate-vote requirement of
As a threshold matter, a separate-vote analysis must focus on the “particular changes made to the constitution.” Swett v. Bradbury, 333 Or 597, 609, 43 P3d 1094 (2002) (emphasis in original). In keeping with that rule, we begin any separate-vote inquiry by identifying the changes, both explicit and implicit, that a proposed measure purports to make to the Oregon Constitution. Id. at 606. If there are multiple changes we determine whether they are “substantive.” If they are, then we must then determine whether they are closely related. Id.
In this case, the Court of Appeals concluded that IP 8 proposes at least two changes to the Oregon Constitution, one aimed at the free expression provisions of
Thus far, our analysis and that of the Court of Appeals parallel each other. However, we begin to part company with the Court of Appeals when our inquiry turns to whether the potential changes in this case are closely related. In addressing that question, the Court of Appeals noted that the proposed change to
In our view, however, several aspects of that reasoning are problematic. First, the particular “legislative power” that the Court of Appeals invoked in its opinion—i.e., the power to regulate campaign contributions and expenditures—is illusory; it does not presently exist. Since the inception of the Oregon Constitution,
Second, even if the ability to enact campaign contribution and expenditure laws were a legal reality, describing the prospective changes to
“By the adoption of the initiative and referendum into our constitution, the legislative department of the State is divided into two separate and distinct lawmaking bodies. There remains, however, as formerly, but one legislative department of the State. It operates, it is true, differently than before—one method by the enactment of laws directly, through that source of all legislative power, the people; and the other, as formerly, by their representatives[.]”
The Court of Appeals observed that this court has offered little guidance concerning what it means for provisions to be “closely related” under the separate-vote analysis, other than applying that criterion in a handful of cases. See Meyer, 205 Or App at 308 n 5 (so stating). But, if this court has written little on the subject, it is because there have been few instances in which the constitutional changes before the court presented a close question on that issue. In some cases, this court has needed to focus on only the different parts of the constitution being amended to conclude that the changes at issue were clearly unrelated, because they involved different changes to different fundamental rights affecting different groups of people. See, e.g., League of Oregon Cities, 334 Or at 674-75 (amendments contained in single constitutional measure expanded
Second, IP 8 is not a complicated measure. If adopted, IP 8 will do essentially two things: (1) create a general authority for both the people and the legislature to enact laws regulating campaign finances; but (2) condition the legislature‘s ability in that regard through a supermajority procedural requirement. The supermajority requirement that IP 8 would place on the legislature both carries out and limits the general authority to enact contribution and expenditure laws that the measure would create. In other words, the supermajority requirement is a procedural condition on which the right to exercise substantive authority is predicated. Viewed in that manner, the constitutional changes proposed by IP 8 are “closely related” and therefore do not offend the
The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
DURHAM, J., dissenting.
The Court of Appeals concluded that Initiative Petition 8 (2006) (IP 8) contained two or more amendments to the Oregon Constitution that must be submitted to and voted on separately by the voters as
If we pause the legal analysis of this case at that point, it appears beyond question that IP 8 violates the unambiguous terms of
“When two or more [constitutional] amendments shall be submitted in the manner aforesaid to the voters of this state at the same election, they shall be so submitted that each amendment shall be voted on separately.”
The purpose that underlies that provision is clear. The drafters of
The majority, however, does not pause in its analysis at that point but proceeds to consider whether the multiple constitutional amendments contained in IP 8 are “closely related.” The phrase “closely related” does not appear in
The majority purports to answer that criticism here by offering the following conclusions about IP 8. First, “IP 8 does not change different constitutional provisions that confer different fundamental rights on different groups of persons.” Id. at 301. Second, “the supermajority requirement is a procedural condition on which the right to exercise substantive authority is predicated.” Id. at 301.
I do not quarrel necessarily with the accuracy of those statements about IP 8. However, they do not convince me that IP 8 satisfies
I emphasize that I cannot tangibly demonstrate that my dissenting view is legally correct and that the majority opinion is legally erroneous, because the governing criterion under discussion—“closely related“—invites little more than
This court, in my view, intended the phrase “closely related” to explain why a proposed alteration of more than one phrase or clause of a constitutional provision nevertheless constituted a single amendment. The court‘s goal in using that phrase was to implement
The unfortunate consequence of today‘s decision is to shift the focus of the single vote inquiry away from the clear terms of
All parties concede that IP 8 modifies Oregon‘s free speech provision,
Those proposed changes do bear some relationship to each other, in that they each concern the financing of political campaigns in Oregon. But the issues that those proposed amendments raise are quite distinct. It is easy to imagine
I cannot conclude that there is a “close” relationship between two separate constitutional amendments, one that would alter a significant aspect of the free speech guarantee to all citizens in Oregon‘s Bill of Rights, and one that would modify the constitutional voting requirements that now govern each house of the Oregon Legislature. The combination of those distinct constitutional amendments for a single vote by the electorate invites the very evil—logrolling—that the drafters of
The Court of Appeals correctly concluded that IP 8 violates the separate-vote requirement in
