House Concurrent Resolution 50

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 70, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, TO PROVIDE THAT THE VOTE REQUIREMENT FOR THE PASSAGE OF A BILL THAT REDUCES A TAX IS ONLY A MAJORITY VOTE OF EACH HOUSE OF THE LEGISLATURE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the state:

Amend Section 70, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

"Section 70. No revenue bill, or any bill providing for assessments of property for taxation, shall become a law except by a vote of at least three-fifths of the members of each house present and voting. * * *" A bill that reduces a tax is not a revenue bill for the purposes of this section, and the vote requirement for the passage of a bill that reduces a tax is only a majority vote of the members of each house present and voting."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this proposed amendment shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2013 as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by general law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed amendment provides that the vote requirement for the passage of a bill that reduces a tax is a majority vote of each house of the Legislature, as compared to the three-fifths vote requirement for the passage of a revenue bill that increases a tax or fee or that authorizes a bond issue."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.