At issue is the procedure by which the legislature declares a measure to be an emergency bill, making it effective when the governor signs it. The legislature now requires a recorded two-thirds vote in each house to give a bill that designation--a procedure that nearly all representatives say is a waste of time, particularly on non-controversial bills.

The amendment would allow the houses to take voice votes on attaching emergency preambles. A roll call could still be taken if two senators or five representatives demanded it, so proponents say no members of the legislature would lose their rights to challenge any bill or vote.

Opponents maintain the amendment offers legislators too much opportunity to railroad a bill through the houses, attach an emergency preamble and have it go into effect immediately without the customary 90-day wait. That kind of action, they say, would undermine the voters' right to referendum and the courts' right to review.

Referendum 1

Cantabrigians who think the level of military spending is exhorbitant now have the chance to say so officially. But it won't count.

A non-binding referendum on tomorrow's ballot asks the "federal government to cease unnecessary spending on new military programs and, instead, to spend the funds for civilian needs such as construction of energy-efficient housing, mass transit, public education and health care."

The Mobilization for Survival, the American Friends Service Committee and several other groups are sponsoring the question, which has received little publicity and no opposition. The referendum has already passed in Berkeley, California and Madison, Wisconsin.

Referendum 2

If you don't like Boston Edison and you detest the idea of nuclear power within a million megawatts of you, you should be sure to read your entire ballot tomorrow.

The last question is a non-binding referendum calling for a moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants in Massachusetts.

The vote could affect Boston Edison's plans--currently before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission--to build a second nuclear power plant near Plymouth. The referendum does not affect either of the two nuclear plants now operating in the state