In Meyer v. Bradbury, the Court of Appeals, reversing the trial court, concluded that proposed initiative 8 violates the separate vote requirement of Article XVII, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution. The measure at issue provides:
"Be it enacted by the People of the State of Oregon, there is added an Article II, section 24, of the Constitution of Oregon, as follows:
"Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Constitution, the people through the initiative process, or the Legislative Assembly by a three-fourths vote of both Houses, may enact and amend laws to prohibit or limit contributions and expenditures, of any type or description, to influence the outcome of any election."
The court first held that it had jurisdiction to consider a pre-election challenge predicated on the separate vote requirement. It then concluded that the proposed measure made changes to Article I, section 8, and to the legislative power under Article IV, section 25, and that the changes were not closely-related. It "note[d]" that the altered provisions were not closely-related, and that the changes to those provisions were not closely-related, although did not articulate the guidelines it used to make those determinations. It merely noted that the Supreme Court has not provided any guidance either.
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