State Supreme Court Disallows Non-Binding Ballot Questions, Effective Immediately

From Steve Peoples of the Projo's 7-to-7 blog...

The state Supreme Court ruled today that the governor cannot order the Secretary of State to place two nonbinding ballot questions on the November ballot, reversing part of a recent Superior Court ruling.

The order upholds the General Assembly's arguments, and effectively strips Governor Carcieri of his power to place nonbinding questions on the ballot.

"Now that the time has come for the Secretary [of State] to perform his statutorily prescribed duties, the governor no longer has the authority to compel the secretary to honor that previously issued order," writes the court in its seven-page decision.

The Projo provides a link to the text of the Supreme Court's opinion.