Understanding Popular Initiative Laws: A Guide to Citizen-Led Legislation

What is a Popular Initiative Law?

A particularly relevant question today, especially following the recent initiative on the minimum wage proposed by several opposition parties such as the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and the Green-Left Alliance.
In the complex Italian legislative framework, it’s crucial to distinguish a popular initiative law from referendums, even though their goals may seem similar.

The referendum question, if accepted, is then subjected to the citizens’ judgment, who can either reject or approve it, provided that a quorum of 50% of voters is met.
Conversely, a popular initiative law is presented to Parliament – specifically to the President of the Chamber or the Senate – for discussion in the assembly.

The Nature of Popular Initiative Laws

The popular initiative law in Italy is outlined in Article 71, second paragraph, of the Constitution, allowing citizens to propose legislative changes.
According to this article, “The people exercise the initiative of laws through proposals made by at least fifty thousand voters in the form of drafted articles.”

Therefore, the initiative must be composed of articles and accompanied by 50,000 signatures.
Any citizen residing in Italy or abroad with voting rights can sign the proposal.

Process of a Popular Initiative Law

To initiate a popular law, promoters, numbering at least ten and holding proof of enrollment in the electoral lists, must first present themselves to the Court of Cassation’s registry office to declare their intention.
They must indicate the title of the proposed law, after which the registry prepares a presentation report and publishes the initiative announcement in the Official Gazette.

The next step is the collection of signatures – at least 50,000, as previously mentioned – accompanied by the electoral certificates of the endorsing citizens.
These signatures must be authenticated; otherwise, they are considered invalid.

After completing these formalities, the proposal can be submitted, with an accompanying explanatory report, to the President of the Chamber or Senate through the Service for Legislative Texts.
At this point, the assembly is obligated to acknowledge the text, though there is no compulsion for Parliament to vote on it.
The regulations of the Chamber of Deputies allocate a portion of the available legislative time for these laws.

Since 2018, proposals in the Senate are referred to a committee, which has one month to commence examination and three months to conclude it.
When the deadline arrives, the proposal is automatically placed on the legislative calendar.

In the last legislative term, two popular initiative laws were definitively approved, while others have been integrated into broader legislative proposals.

For further details on this topic, check Governo.it.