The Honorable Joan Heckaman
AGO 2017-L-6
Letter Opinion 2017-L-06
North Dakota Attorney General Opinion
December 8, 2017
The
Honorable Joan Heckaman
State
Senate
322 2nd
Avenue N
New
Rockford, ND 58356
The
Honorable Pamela Anderson
House
of Representatives
3001
40th Avenue South Unit H
Fargo,
ND 58104-4406
The
Honorable Mary Schneider
House
of Representatives
1011
8th Street South
Fargo,
ND 58103-2725
Dear
Senator Heckaman, Representative Anderson, and Representative
Schneider:
Thank
you for your letter asking whether the two-thirds vote
requirement contained in Article III, § 8 of the North
Dakota Constitution, applies to N.D.C.C. ch. 19-24.1 for
seven years.
For the
following reasons, it is my opinion N.D.C.C. ch. 19-24.1
retains initiated status and is subject to the constitutional
limitations provided in N.D. Const. art. III, § 8.
ANALYSIS
North
Dakota voters legalized the medical use of marijuana by
approving Initiated Measure No. 5 during the 2016 election,
creating N.D.C.C. ch. 19-24, known as the North Dakota
Compassionate Care Act.
[1] In the subsequent legislative
session, S.B. 2344 repealed N.D.C.C. ch. 19-24 and created
N.D.C.C. ch. 19-24.1.
[2] Senate Bill 2344 was approved by the
Legislative Assembly with at least two-thirds vote of the
members elected to each house.
[3]
Article
III, § 8, N.D. Const., provides in part:
A measure approved by the electors may not be repealed or
amended by the legislative assembly for seven years from its
effective date, except by a two-thirds vote of the members
elected to each house.
The
Constitution does not address whether this limitation
continues to apply after an initiated measure has been
amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of each house.
The
North Dakota Supreme Court...