January 14, 2019
TO: Elections and Capitol Divisions
FROM: Michael Ross, Deputy Secretary of State and Chief of Staff
RE: Process for Identifying Duties Related to Proposed Constitutional Amendments
Following you will find the newly adopted policy for identifying publication requirements for
proposed constitutional amendments. This policy shall be effective immediately.
Policy for Identifying Proposed Constitutional Amendments for Publication
While by its very nature, a proposed constitutional amendment requiring publication is an
extraordinary event; nonetheless, some simple procedures will ensure that all proposed
constitutional amendments are identified and published as required by law.
1. The legislative liaison(s) shall review all joint resolutions proposed by each chamber
noting and tracking any proposed constitutional amendments. They shall send copies of
each joint resolution to the Deputy Secretaries of State, Deputy Commissioner of
Elections and Legal Counsel.
2. The Deputy Secretaries of State, Deputy Commissioner of Elections and Legal Counsel
shall review each joint resolution filed with the Secretary of State to determine if any
direction is provided by the General Assembly to the Secretary of State and determine if a
constitutional amendment has been proposed.
3. At the conclusion of each General Session, the Secretary of State shall schedule and hold
a meeting with the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the House to review the
journal and discuss any joint resolutions that require action on the part of the Secretary of
State.
4. The Secretary of State shall request that the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk
of the House flag any proposed constitutional amendments for special attention before
they are submitted to the Secretary of State for filing.
5. After the conclusion of each legislative session, the Deputy Secretaries of State, Deputy
Commissioner of Elections and Legal Counsel shall review the Iowa Legislative
Service’s records and study each joint resolution. They shall in turn instruct the
publication of any proposed constitutional amendment.
6. This process will be included with transition documents at the time that a new Secretary
of State is elected. The new administration will be strongly encouraged to retain this
policy.
The combination of the aforementioned steps will ensure that all publication requirements for
proposed constitutional amendments will be met in a timely manner. I would be more than
happy to review the policy with each of you, if you have any questions.