An Assessment of New Jersey’s Proposed Limited Initiative Process

In the 2001–2002 legislative session, the New Jersey legislature considered two bills calling for a “limited initiative” process for the state of New Jersey-Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 8 and Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 82 ( “SCR 8” and “ACR 82"). In this report, the Brennan Center for Justice analyzes these two bills by placing them in the context of initiative processes adopted in other states. We begin with a brief history of the initiative and referendum process in the United States, move on to a state-by-state comparison of the nation’s various initiative features, discuss the critical issues concerning the initiative process in general, and finally address how SCR 8 and ACR 82 deal with these critical issues.