At some point, probably when the Mississippi Legislature finishes the important work of solving problems that don’t exist, legislators will get around to restoring the right of citizens to change state law at the ballot box.

Well, sort of. I’ll explain that in a bit. But first, some background:

On May 14, in a 6-3 ruling that struck down a widely-popular vote to amend the state constitution and create a medical marijuana program, the Mississippi Supreme Court invalidated the process by which voters could change state law at the ballot box through what is called the citizen initiative process.

In 1992, the Legislature restored the citizen initiative process, allowing voters to amend the state constitution via the ballot. The language in that legislation said signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot must be equally distributed among the state’s five congressional districts. When Mississippi lost a congressional district after the 2000 census, the language was never updated to reflect the current number of four congressional districts.

That was just the loophole the Supreme Court needed to deny citizens the right to directly alter state law.

The response was swift and predictable. Mississippians across every demographic were hopping mad and woe to the legislator who said he supported the Supreme Court’s decision.

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley was the first to call for a special session of the legislature to restore the initiative process, saying all that needed to be done was to change one word in the 1992 legislation — replacing the “5” with a “4.”

House Speaker Philip Gunn called for a special session, too, but Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the matter could wait until the regular 2022 session.

A month into the 2022 session, bills to address this issue have been sent to committees in both chambers.

Problem solved? Hardly.

What hasn’t changed is that most legislators privately hate the idea of citizen initiative and believe it usurps their roles. After all, the reason we even have a legislature is to write laws.

Fair enough, but what happens when legislators consistently ignore the will of the people? The citizen initiative was the people’s only recourse, and it has proven to be effective when used.

You’ll find no better example than the medical marijuana bill that was passed last week and now awaits the governor’s signature. For years, legislators had ignored every effort to create a medical marijuana program. Fed up, voters took it to the polls and voted 3-to-1 for medical marijuana. Even though the Supreme Court negated that vote, it lit a fire under legislators to pass medical marijuana. We see the result of that pressure.

Legislators may have been chastened by that experience, but their disdain of citizens having the means to overrule their decisions endures.

Asking the legislature to fully restore the right of the people to act when the legislature refuses to act is like asking two wolves and a lamb to vote on what’s for lunch. We know how this will work out. We see the evidence in the proposed bills, which permit voters to change general law rather than amend the constitution as the 1992 legislation established.

Legislators can change general law on a whim, adding or subtracting or making other changes to suit them, something that cannot be easily done to a constitutional amendment. Yet that’s exactly what gives the citizens’ ability to amend the state constitution its power.

When legislators persist in ignoring the will of the people, the ability to change the state constitution is the only stick voters really have. Message to legislators: Don’t want a bad amendment?  Listen to the people and write good law.

Fat chance.

Sometime this session, the legislature will approve this sham of a citizen initiative and it will again go to the polls in November where it will put voters in the awkward position of either voting for a citizen initiative that takes away any real power they hold or not having any form of citizen initiative at all.

It’s Catch 22: Either way, the citizens lose.

The only means to avoid this scenario is for people to call their legislators now and demand legislation that restores the citizens’ rights to amend the constitution rather than general law. Don’t be dissuaded. This is may be your last shot at reclaiming your rightful role in self-government.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].