Single-subject rule explained

The single-subject rule is a rule in the constitutional law of some jurisdictions that stipulates that some or all types of legislation may deal with only one main issue. One purpose is to avoid complexity in acts, to avoid any hidden provisions that legislators or voters may miss when reading the proposed law. Another is to prevent legislators attaching an unpopular provision ("rider") to an unrelated popular one, whether in the hope of sneaking the unpopular one through, or in the hope of causing the popular one to be rejected (a type of wrecking amendment).

Scope of a bill

In English law, the long title of a bill or act of parliament states its purpose; this may enumerate multiple purposes, or end with a vague formula like "and for other purposes". A proposed amendment to a bill may be rejected if it is outside the scope defined in its long title; alternatively, the title may be amended to increase its scope. An omnibus bill covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics.

By country

Australia

Section 55 of the Constitution of Australia provides a single-subject rule for taxation legislation: "Laws imposing taxation shall deal only with the imposition of taxation, and any provision therein dealing with any other matter shall be of no effect". The same section also requires laws imposing taxation to "deal with one subject of taxation only" (except those relating to customs and excise).[1]

Ireland

The 1937 Constitution of Ireland states that "A Bill containing a proposal or proposals for the amendment of this Constitution shall not contain any other proposal".[2] This was in contrast to the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State, which could be implicitly amended.[3]

Sweden

The Parliamentary Act (sv|Riksdagsordningen) states that "proposals on different subjects may not be combined in one motion".[4]

Switzerland

In Swiss law, the "principle of the unity of the subject matter" (de|Grundsatz der Einheit der Materie, fr|principe de l'unité de la matière, it|principio dell'unità della materia) applies to federal popular initiatives and to parliamentary legislation that is subject to a referendum. It has been derived by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court from the provision in article 34, section 2 of the Swiss Federal Constitution which guarantees "the freedom of the citizen to form an opinion and to give genuine expression to his or her will" in the exercise of political rights. The Court has outlined the principle as follows:

"The principle of the unity of the subject matter requires that the subject of a referendum may, in principle, have only one topic area as its subject, that is, that two or several substantive questions or subject matters may not be joined into one referendum proposition in such a way that the voters face a dilemma and do not have a free choice between the several parts. If an item of legislation addresses several substantive questions or subject matters, the unity of the subject matter is only preserved if the several parts have a material intrinsic connection with each other, are materially related to each other and are aimed at the same goal; this material connection may not be merely artificial, subjective or political in nature. (...) Because the concept of the unity of the subject matter is a relative one, and because the weight given to the several parts of a legislative proposition and their relationship to each other is principally a political question, the authorities enjoy wide discretion in the shaping of referendum propositions."[5]

United States

The single subject rule exists in 43 state constitutions in the United States. 41 states apply the rule to all legislation, whereas Mississippi and Arkansas apply it only to appropriations bills.[6]

States with a single-subject rule include Alabama,[7] Alaska,[8] Arizona,[9] California,[10] Colorado,[11] Delaware,[12] Florida,[13] Georgia,[14] Hawaii,[15] Idaho,[16] Illinois,[17] Indiana,[18] Iowa,[19] Kansas,[20] Kentucky,[21] Louisiana,[22] Maryland,[23] Michigan,[24] Minnesota,[25] Missouri,[26] Montana,[27] Nebraska,[28] Nevada,[29] New Jersey,[30] New Mexico,[31] New York,[32] North Dakota,[33] Ohio,[34] Oklahoma,[35] Oregon,[36] Pennsylvania,[37] South Carolina,[38] South Dakota,[39] Tennessee,[40] Texas,[41] Utah,[42] Virginia,[43] Washington,[44] Wisconsin,[45] and Wyoming.[46] The only states without a single-subject rule in their constitution are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Several states with a single-subject rule make an exception for general appropriations, including Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Some of these states listed also make an exception to the single-subject rule for codifying and revising laws, like Alabama's, for example: "[. . .] Each law shall contain but one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, except general appropriation bills, general revenue bills, and bills adopting a code, digest, or revision of statutes [. . .]"

26 states allow for citizen-initiated ballot measures, 16 of which apply a single-subject rule to all ballot measures, while 10 do not require a single-subject rule be applied to ballot measures.[47]

For example, the constitution of Minnesota, Article IV, Section 17, requires that "No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title." Conversely, neither the U.S. Congress nor the U.S. Constitution has such a rule so riders which are completely unrelated to the main bill are commonplace. These amendments are often put into bills at the last minute, so that any representative who may read the legislation before actually voting on it will not have a chance to catch it. An effort is underway, however, to add a single subject amendment to the U.S. Constitution to apply a single subject rule to the Congress.[48]

It has been charged that single-subject rules have been misused as a political or judicial measure to slow or nullify ballot initiatives. An example of accusation of misuse of this law occurred in Colorado when a former governor made a statement against a single-subject ruling.[49] The rule can also result in overly narrow questions, that result in no substantial effects.[50]

In July 2006, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a November 2004 amendment to the constitution of Georgia against same-sex marriage would be allowed to stand, despite also banning recognition of same-sex marriages done in other states, and banning civil unions. Additionally, voters in the referendum were told of only the same-sex marriage question, while the ballot failed to mention the other two issues, preventing voters from giving fully informed consent. A judge had previously ruled that voters had the right to decide the issue of civil unions separately, thus putting the two issues as one violated Georgia's single-subject rule.

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Constitution of Australia]
  2. Web site: Constitution of Ireland. October 2015. Irish Statute Book. Article 46.5. 3 June 2016.
  3. Book: Forde. Michael. Leonard. David. Constitutional Law of Ireland. 3 June 2016. 2013. A&C Black. 9781847667380. 316, fn.72.
  4. 801. 2014. 9, Paragraph 10. Chapter. Riksdagen. Riksdagsordningen]]. The Parliamentary Act. Swedish.
  5. [Swiss Federal Supreme Court]
  6. Web site: Capital Closeup: In the Midwest, every state constitution has a 'single subject' rule, which was at the center of two recent cases in Nebraska and North Dakota . The Council of State Governments Midwestern Office . 5 April 2024 . 5 January 2024 .
  7. Web site: SECTION 45 :: Alabama Constitution . 2024-10-31 . Justia Law . en.
  8. Web site: Article 2 - The Legislature :: Alaska Constitution . 2024-10-31 . Justia Law . en.
  9. Web site: Article 4 Part 2 Section 13 - Subject and title of bills . 2024-10-31 . Justia Law . en.
  10. Web site: California Constitution :: Article IV - Legislative :: Section 9. . 2024-10-31 . Justia Law . en.
  11. Web site: Article V. Section 21. Bill to contain but one subject - expressed in title. 1876 — Current Colorado Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  12. Web site: ARTICLE II. LEGISLATURE . 2024-10-31 . delcode.delaware.gov.
  13. Web site: Article III. Section 6. Laws. 1968 — Current Florida Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  14. Web site: Article III. Paragraph III. One subject matter expressed 1982 — Current Georgia Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  15. Web site: Article III. Section 14. Bills; Enactment 1978 — Current Hawaii Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  16. Web site: Article III. Section 16. Unity of subject and title 1890 — Current Idaho Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  17. Web site: Article IV. Section 8. Passage of Bills 1970 — Current Illinois Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  18. Web site: Article 4. Section 19. One subject acts; exceptions 1974 — Current Indiana Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  19. Web site: Article III. Section 29. Acts--one subject--expressed in title 1857 — Current Iowa Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  20. Web site: Article 2. Section 16. Subject and title of bills; amendment or revival of statutes 1974 — Current Kansas Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  21. Web site: Section 51. Law may not relate to more than one subject, to be expressed in title -- Amendments must be at length. 1891 — Current Kentucky Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  22. Web site: Article III. Section 15. Passage of Bills 1974 — Current Louisiana Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  23. Web site: Article III. Section 29. . 1867 — Current Maryland Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  24. Web site: Article IV. Section 24. Laws; object, title, amendments changing purpose 1964 — Current Michigan Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  25. Web site: Article IV. Section 17. Laws to embrace only one subject 1974 — Current Minnesota Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  26. Web site: Article III. Section 23. Limitation of scope of bills--contents of titles--exceptions 1945 — Current Missouri Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  27. Web site: Article V. Section 11. Bills 1972 — Current Montana Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  28. Web site: Article III. Section 14. Bills and resolutions read by title; printing; vote for final passage; bills to contain one subject; amended section to be set forth; signing of bills. 1996 — Current Nebraska Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  29. Web site: Article 4. Section 17. Act to embrace one subject only; title; amendment 1864 — Current Nevada Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  30. Web site: Article IV. Paragraph 4. . 1948 — Current New Jersey Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  31. Web site: Article IV. Section 16. Subject of bill in title; appropriation bills. 1912 — Current New Mexico Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  32. Web site: Article III. Section 15. Private or local bills to embrace only one subject, expressed in title 1938 — Current New York Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  33. Web site: Article IV. Section 13. . 1992 — Current North Dakota Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  34. Web site: Article II. Section 15. How bills shall be passed 1973 — Current Ohio Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  35. Web site: Article V. Section 57. Subjects and titles--Revival or amendment by reference--Extent of invalidity 1907 — Current Oklahoma Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  36. Web site: Article IV. Section 20. Subject and title of Act. 1952 — Current Oregon Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  37. Web site: Article III, A. Section 3. Form of bills 1968 — Current Pennsylvania Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  38. Web site: Article III. Section 17. One subject 1895 — Current South Carolina Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  39. Web site: Article III. Section 21. One subject expressed in title. 1889 — Current South Dakota Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  40. Web site: Article II. Section 17. Bills; requirements 1870 — Current Tennessee Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  41. Web site: Article III. Section 35. SUBJECTS AND TITLES OF BILLS. 1986 — Current Texas Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  42. Web site: Utah Constitution - Article VI, Section 22 . 2024-10-31 . le.utah.gov.
  43. Web site: Article IV. Section 12. Form of laws 1971 — Current Virginia Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  44. Web site: Article II. Section 19. Bill to Contain One Subject 1889 — Current Washington Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  45. Web site: Article IV. Section 18. Title of private bills 1848 — Current Wisconsin Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  46. Web site: Article 3. Section 24. Bill to contain only one subject, which shall be expressed in title. 1889 — Current Wyoming Constitution 50 Constitutions . 2024-10-31 . 50constitutions.org . en.
  47. Web site: Single-subject rule for ballot initiatives . 2024-10-31 . Ballotpedia . en.
  48. Web site: July Newsletter. Article V News. 11 February 2015.
  49. Web site: Court bars immigration vote . The Denver Post . June 13, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060616115209/http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3929774 . June 16, 2006 . August 16, 2011.
  50. Web site: Single Subject Rules . May 8, 2009 . . August 16, 2011.

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