Mississippi Citizens' Initiative, How it Works, and Its Limitations

In 1992, the voters of the State of Mississippi approved an amendment to §273 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 creating a constitutional initiative process whereby citizens may place before the voters changes to the state constitution through an initiative properly proposed. Most states have initiative processes of one kind or another.

In Mississippi, the law does not include a referendum process where voters may override or veto actions of the Legislature, or propose new statutes. Mississippi’s “initiative only” law is limited to constitutional changes and though the term “initiative and referendum” is often used, it is only an initiative.

Mississippi initiative law is a form of “indirect” initiative which allows for legislative analysis. It, along with Massachusetts, are the only two states that have this procedure. In this way, the Legislature has the opportunity to hold hearings and propose alternatives to the citizens’ initiative. However, the Legislature cannot amend the original initiative and put it on the ballot as amended. It may only pass an alternative measure that appears on the ballot alongside the citizens’ initiative, but if it takes no action for 120 days the initiative automatically goes on the ballot.

The initiative process in Mississippi cannot be used to:

(1) Modify the Bill of Rights (including Article 3 §17 on eminent domain);

(2) Amend any Public Employee’s Retirement System constitutional provision;

(3) Amend or repeal Mississippi’s “Right to Work” constitutional provision; or

(4) Modify the Mississippi constitutional initiative process itself.
Unlike the United States Constitution, all Mississippi constitutional amendments must be approved by the voters.

10 Miss. Const. Art. XV, § 273(5)