Session of 2000
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5074
By Representative Mays
3-13
10 A PROPOSITION to
amend section 5 of article 12 of the constitution
11 of the state of
Kansas, relating to cities' powers of home rule.
12
13 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas, two-thirds of the
14 members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the House of Repre-
15 sentatives and
two-thirds of the members elected (or appointed) and
16 qualified to the
Senate concurring therein:
17
Section 1. The following proposition to amend the
constitution of the
18 state of Kansas shall be submitted to the
qualified electors of the state
19 for their approval or rejection: Section 5
of article 12 of the constitution
20 of the state of Kansas is hereby amended to
read as follows:
21 ``§
5. Cities' powers of home rule. (a) The legislature
shall pro-
22 vide by general law,
applicable to all cities, for the incorporation of
23 cities and the methods
by which city boundaries may be altered,
24 cities may be merged
or consolidated and cities may be dissolved:
25
Provided, That.
Existing laws on such subjects not applicable to all
26 cities on the
effective date of this amendment shall remain in
effect
27 until superseded by
general law and such existing laws shall not be
28 subject to charter
ordinance.
29
(b) Cities are hereby empowered to determine their local
af-
30 fairs and government
including the levying of taxes, excises, fees,
31 charges and other
exactions except when and as the levying of any
32 tax, excise, fee,
charge or other exaction is limited or prohibited by
33 enactment of the
legislature applicable uniformly to all cities of the
34 same
class: Provided,
That. The legislature may establish not
to
35 exceed four classes of
cities for the purpose of imposing all such
36 limitations or
prohibitions. Cities shall exercise such determination
37 by ordinance passed by
the governing body with referendums only
38 in such cases as
prescribed by the legislature, subject only to en-
39 actments of the
legislature of statewide concern applicable uni-
40 formly to all cities,
to other enactments of the legislature applicable
41 uniformly to all
cities, to enactments of the legislature applicable
42 uniformly to all
cities of the same class limiting or prohibiting the
43 levying of any tax,
excise, fee, charge or other exaction and to en-
2
1 actments of the
legislature prescribing limits of indebtedness. Ex-
2 cept as
provided by this section, all enactments relating to cities
3 now in effect or
hereafter enacted and as later amended and until
4 repealed shall
govern cities except as cities shall exempt
themselves
5 by
charter ordinances as herein provided for in subsection
(c).
6
(c) (1) Any city may, by
charter ordinance, may elect in the
7 manner
prescribed in this section that the whole or any part of any
8 enactment of the
legislature applying to such city, other than en-
9 actments of
statewide concern applicable uniformly to all cities,
10 other enactments
applicable uniformly to all cities, and enactments
11 prescribing limits of
indebtedness, shall not apply to such city.
12
(2) A charter ordinance is an ordinance which exempts a
city
13 from the whole or any
part of any enactment of the legislature as
14 referred to in this
section and which may provide substitute and
15 additional provisions
on the same subject. Such charter ordinance
16 shall be so titled,
shall designate specifically the enactment of the
17 legislature or part
thereof made inapplicable to such city by the
18 adoption of such
ordinance and contain the substitute and addi-
19 tional provisions, if
any, and shall require a two-thirds vote of the
20 members-elect of the
governing body of such city. Every charter
21 ordinance shall be
published once each week for two consecutive
22 weeks in the official
city newspaper or, if there is none, in a news-
23 paper of general
circulation in the city.
24
(3) No charter ordinance shall take effect until sixty days
after
25 its final publication.
If within sixty days of its final publication a
26 petition signed by a
number of electors of the city equal to not less
27 than ten
percent 10% of the number of electors who voted at
the
28 last preceding regular
city election shall be filed in the office of the
29 clerk of such city
demanding that such ordinance be submitted to
30 a vote of the
electors, it shall not take effect until submitted to a
31 referendum and
approved by a majority of the electors voting
32 thereon. An election,
if called, shall be called within thirty 30
days
33 and held within
ninety 90 days after the filing of the
petition. The
34 governing body shall
pass an ordinance calling the election and fix-
35 ing the date, which
ordinance shall be published once each week
36 for three consecutive
weeks in the official city newspaper or, if there
37 be none, in a
newspaper of general circulation in the city, and
the.
38 Such election
shall be conducted in the same manner as elections
39 for officers and by
the officers handling such elections. The prop-
40 osition shall be:
``Shall charter ordinance No. ________, entitled
41 (title of ordinance)
take effect?'' The governing body may submit
42 any charter ordinance
to a referendum without petition by the same
43 publication of the
charter ordinance and the same publication of
3
1 the ordinance
calling the election as for ordinances upon petition
2 and such charter
ordinance shall then become effective when ap-
3 proved by a
majority of the electors voting thereon. Each charter
4 ordinance
becoming effective shall be recorded by the clerk in a
5 book maintained
for that purpose with a statement of the manner
6 of adoption and
a certified copy shall be filed with the secretary of
7 state, who shall
keep an index of the same.
8
(4) Each charter ordinance enacted shall control and
prevail
9 over any prior
or subsequent act of the governing body of the city
10 and may be repealed or
amended only by charter ordinance or by
11 enactments of the
legislature applicable to all cities.
12
(d) Powers and authority granted cities pursuant to this
section
13 shall be liberally
construed for the purpose of giving to cities the
14 largest measure of
self-government.
15
(e) This amendment shall be effective on and after
July 1, 1961.
16 (e) The
legislature shall provide by law a procedure for initia-
17 tive of charter
ordinances.''
18 Sec. 2. The
following statement shall be printed on the ballot with
19 the amendment as a whole:
20 ``Explanatory
statement. Under current law a charter ordinance of
21 a
city may be amended or repealed only by a charter ordinance
22
enacted by the governing body of the city or by enactment of
23
the legislature applicable to all cities. The purpose of this
amend-
24
ment is to require the legislature to enact a law authorizing
ini-
25
tiative of charter ordinances.
26
``A vote for this proposition would require the legislature to
enact
27 a
law authorizing initiative and referendum of charter
28
ordinances.
29
``A vote against this proposition would retain the current
limitations
30
on initiative and referendum.''
31
Sec. 3. This resolution, if approved by two-thirds of
the members
32 elected (or appointed) and qualified to the
House of Representatives, and
33 two-thirds of the members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the
34 Senate shall be entered on the journals,
together with the yeas and nays.
35 The secretary of state shall cause this
resolution to be published as pro-
36 vided by law and shall cause the proposed
amendment to be submitted
37 to the electors of the state at the general
election to be held on November
38 7, 2000, unless a special election is
called at a sooner date by concurrent
39 resolution of the legislature, in which
case it shall be submitted to the
40 electors of the state at the special
election.
41