Initiative may be defined, in government, as a procedure for the introduction of proposed legislation by means of public petition, and for the enactment of the proposal into law by popular vote. The two types of initiative are direct initiative and indirect. <\/p>\n
In the practice of direct initiative, a body of voters submits to the government a petition containing a proposed law. If the petition contains the minimum number of valid signatures as prescribed by statute, the government must submit the proposed law directly to the electorate in the form of a referendum. If a majority of the people vote in favor of the proposal, it becomes law. In the practice of indirect initiative, voters submit a petition containing a proposed law to the legislature, which must then consider it. If the law is rejected by the legislature, it must then be submitted to the electorate for a referendum vote. <\/p>\n
The first constitution of Georgia, adopted in 1777, reserved to the voters the exclusive right to propose amendments to the constitution of the state. The right to initiate all types of legislation was first granted to voters by South Dakota in 1898. Today more than 20 states and city governments in the U.S. have legal provisions for the right of initiative.<\/p>\n
Source: “Initiative”Microsoft\u00ae Encarta\u00ae Online Encyclopedia <\/p>\n
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