Education Initiative PAC v. Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs

293 P.3d 874, 129 Nev. 35, 129 Nev. Adv. Rep. 5, 2013 WL 372589, 2013 Nev. LEXIS 4
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 2013
DocketNo. 61996
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 293 P.3d 874 (Education Initiative PAC v. Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Education Initiative PAC v. Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs, 293 P.3d 874, 129 Nev. 35, 129 Nev. Adv. Rep. 5, 2013 WL 372589, 2013 Nev. LEXIS 4 (Neb. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

By the Court,

Hardesty, J.:

In this appeal, we consider the proper standard of review to be applied when reviewing the adequacy of a ballot initiative’s description of effect. Nevada’s Constitution permits the Legislature to provide procedures to facilitate the initiative process. In 2005, the Legislature enacted NRS 295.009(l)(b), which requires a ballot initiative to provide in 200 words or less a description of the effect of the initiative. A description of effect serves a limited purpose to facilitate the initiative process, and to that end, it must be a straightforward, succinct, and nonargumentative summary of what the initiative is designed to achieve and how it intends to reach those goals. Given that limited purpose and the 200-word re[38]*38striction, the description of effect cannot constitutionally be required to delineate every effect that an initiative will have; to conclude otherwise could obstruct, rather than facilitate, the people’s right to the initiative process. In reviewing an initiative’s description of effect, a district court should assess whether the description contains a straightforward, succinct, and nonargumentative statement of what the initiative will accomplish and how it will achieve those goals. Because we conclude that the description of effect at issue in this case satisfies this requirement, and because the single-subject challenge to the initiative lacks merit, we affirm in part and reverse in part the district court’s order invalidating the initiative here.

BACKGROUND

Appellant, The Education Initiative PAC (El PAC), a Nevada political action committee, seeks to enact a law through Nevada’s ballot initiative process to provide a new funding source for the state’s public school K-12 education needs. This proposed law, which El PAC entitled “The Education Initiative,” would impose a two-percent margin tax on all Nevada businesses with annual revenue of more than $1 million.1 After filing the proposed ballot initiative with the Secretary of State, El PAC began circulating petitions to gather the necessary signatures so that the Initiative could be presented to the Legislature in 2013 and, if necessary, be placed on the 2014 general election ballot.

Respondent Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the First Judicial District Court challenging the Initiative. In its complaint, the Committee sought a declaration that (1) El PAC’s Initiative violated NRS 295.009’s single-subject rule because it sought to enact a multi-subject law, and (2) its description of effect was misleading in several respects. The Committee asked the district court to enjoin the Secretary of State from presenting the Initiative to the Legislature in 2013 and from eventually placing the Initiative on the 2014 general election ballot.

Although the district court rejected the Committee’s single-subject rule challenge, it found that the Initiative’s description of effect was “incomplete, deceptive, [and] misleading.” As a result, the district court granted the Committee’s requested relief in part, enjoining the Secretary of State from presenting the Initiative to the Legislature, but rejecting the Committee’s request that El PAC be [39]*39enjoined from continuing to gather petition signatures.2 This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

If enacted, the Education Initiative would require, among other things, that the margin tax revenues raised under the new law be deposited into the state Distributive School Account, which, in essence, is a subaccount of the State General Fund, NRS 387.030(1), and then be “apportioned among the several school districts ... at the times and in the manner provided by [existing] law for the money in the State Distributive School Account.” To understand the arguments raised by the parties to this appeal and this court’s legal conclusions, we begin by examining the initiative process before addressing the parties’ contentions.

Nevada’s ballot initiative process

Since 1912, Nevada’s Constitution has secured to the citizens of this state “the power to propose, by initiative petition, statutes and amendments to statutes . . . and to enact or reject them at the polls.” Nev. Const, art. 19, § 2(1). The constitution requires the ballot initiative proponent to file a copy of the initiative with the Secretary of State and then gather a required number of signatures from registered voters who likewise support the initiative’s ideas. Nev. Const, art. 19, § 2(2), (3). Once the required number of signatures are gathered, the proponent must then submit the signatures to the Secretary of State for verification. Nev. Const, art. 19, § 2(3). If the Secretary verifies that the required number of signatures has been gathered, the Secretary must transmit the initiative to the Legislature “as soon as the Legislature convenes and organizes” for its next legislative session. Id. At that point, if the Legislature chooses to enact the initiative and the governor ap[40]*40proves it, the initiative becomes law. Id. If, however, the Legislature rejects the initiative or simply fails to take action on it during the first 40 days of the session, the Secretary must then place the initiative on the next general election ballot, id., which in this case would be in 2014.

The constitution authorizes the Legislature to “provide by law for procedures to facilitate” the people’s power to legislate by initiative. Nev. Const, art. 19, § 5. Before an initiative can be placed on the ballot, NRS 293.250(5) requires the Secretary of State to prepare an explanation of what the initiative entails, which “must be in easily understood language and of reasonable length.” In addition, the Secretary must appoint two committees, one of which writes arguments advocating passage of the initiative, while the other drafts arguments in opposition to its passage.3 NRS 293.252(1), (5)(d). Each committee also writes rebuttals to the other committee’s argument. NRS 293.252(5)(e). Among other things, each committee’s argument and rebuttal “[sjhall address . . . [tjhe fiscal impact of the initiative.” NRS 293.252(5)(f)(l). Once the Secretary approves each committee’s argument and rebuttal, they are placed on the sample ballot distributed to the voters before the general election along with the Secretary’s explanation of the initiative. NRS 293.097; NRS 293.252(8).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
293 P.3d 874, 129 Nev. 35, 129 Nev. Adv. Rep. 5, 2013 WL 372589, 2013 Nev. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/education-initiative-pac-v-committee-to-protect-nevada-jobs-nev-2013.