THE
INITIATIVE PROCESS IN THE CITY OF
(January 2008)
The following information is intended to assist residents who are
considering circulating a petition for a local measure/initiative in the City
of
Steps for circulating and
filing a petition for a measure/initiative:
1.
Proponents
file a notice of intent with the City Clerk's Office requesting a ballot title
and summary (Section 9202).
2.
Within
15 days, the City Clerk will provide to proponents a ballot title and summary,
as prepared by the city attorney (Section 9203).
3.
Proponents
must publish the notice of intent, the title and the summary of the proposed measure
in an adjudicated newspaper of general circulation (Section 9205).
4.
Within
ten days of publication/posting, proponents must submit to City Clerk a copy of
the notice filed and a publishing affidavit from newspaper where notice was
published. (Section 9206).
5.
Once
proof of publishing has been filed with City Clerk, proponents may circulate
petitions to gather signatures.
Proponents must file petition within 180 from date of receipt of title
and summary (Section 9208).
6.
City
Clerk will verify that the petition contains the minimum required number of
signatures within 30 days of filing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
(Section 9211).
7.
If
the petition qualifies, the City Clerk will present the petition to the Council
at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
The City Council may do one of the following:
·
Adopt
the ordinance, without alteration at the regular meeting or within 10 days.
·
If petition contains 15% of voters'
signatures and a request for a special election, order a special
election; if petition contains10% of voter's signatures, place the proposed
measure on the ballot of the next regularly scheduled municipal election.
·
If
the Council has not yet done so, Council may order a report as provided for in
Section 9212.
8. Should the City Council order a report, as provided for in
Section 9212, the report will be presented to Council no later than 30 days, at
which time Council may adopt the ordinance as presented or call an election as
indicated above.
9. The suggested date for submitting a signed petition to the City
Clerk for placement on a November ballot election is approximately 172 days
prior to the election. i.e., mid-May of the election year.
2007
CHAPTER
3 - SECTIONS 9200-9226
9200.
Scope of article.
Ordinances may be enacted
by and for any incorporated city pursuant to this article.
9201.
Proposed ordinance may be submitted by petition.
Any proposed ordinance may
be submitted to the legislative body of the city by a petition filed with the elections
official of the legislative body, in the manner herein after prescribed, after
being signed by not less than the number of voters specified in this
article. The petition may be in
separate sections, providing that the petition complies with this article. The first page of each section shall contain
the title of the petition and the text of the measure. The petition sections shall be designated in
the manner set forth in Section 9020.
9202. Notice
of intent to circulate; filing, form.
(a) Before circulating an
initiative petition in any city, the proponents of the matter shall file with
the elections official a notice of intention to do so, which shall be
accompanied by the written text of the initiative and may be accompanied by a
written statement not in excess of 500, setting forth the reasons for the
proposed petition. The notice shall be
signed by at least one, but not more than three, proponents and shall be in
substantially the following form:
Notice
of Intent to Circulate Petition
Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of
their intention to circulate the petition within the City of
9203. Proposed
measure; title and summary.
(a) Any person who is
interested in any proposed measure shall file a copy of the proposed measure
with the elections official with a request that a ballot title and summary be
prepared. This request shall be
accompanied by the address of the person proposing the measure. The elections official shall immediately
transmit a copy of the proposed measure to the city attorney. Within 15 days after the proposed measure is
filed, the city attorney shall provide and return to the city elections
official a ballot title for and summary of the proposed measure. The ballot title may differ from any other
title of the proposed measure and shall express in 500 words or less the
purpose of the proposed measure. In
providing the ballot title, the city attorney shall give a true and impartial
statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language that the
ballot tile shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice,
for or against the proposed measure.
(b) The elections official
shall furnish a copy of the ballot title and summary to the person filing the
proposed measure. The person proposing
the measure shall, prior to its circulation, place upon each section of the
petition above the text of the proposed measure and across the top of each page
of the petition on which signatures are to appear, in roman boldface type not
smaller than 12 point, the ballot title prepared by the city attorney. The text of the measure shall be printed in
type not smaller than 8 point.
The heading of the
proposed measure shall be in substantially the following form:
Initiative
Measure to be Submitted Directly to the Voters
The City attorney has prepared the following title and summary of
the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure: (Here set forth the title and summary
prepared by the city attorney. This
title and summary must also be printed across the top of each page of the
petition whereon signatures are to appear.)
9204. Title
or summary; writ of mandate.
Any elector of the city
may seek a writ of mandate requiring the ballot title or summary prepared by
the city attorney to be amended. The
court shall expedite hearing on the writ.
A peremptory writ of mandate shall be issued only upon clear and
convincing proof that the ballot title or summary is false, misleading, or
inconsistent with the requirements of Section 9203.
9205.
Where notice is published or posted.
A notice of intention and
the title and summary of the proposed measure shall be published or posted or
both as follows:
(a) If there is a
newspaper of general circulation, as described in Chapter 1 of Division 7 of
Title 1 of the Government Code, adjudicated as such, the notice, title, and
summary shall be published therein at least once.
(b) If the petition is to
be circulated in a city in which there is no adjudicated newspaper of general
circulation, the notice, title, and summary shall be published at least once,
in a newspaper circulated within the city and adjudicated as being of general
circulation within the county in which the city is located and the notice,
title, and summary shall be posted in three public places within the city,
which public places shall be those utilized for the purpose of posting
ordinances as required in Section 36933 of the Government Code.
(c) If the petition is to be circulated in a city
in which there is no adjudicated newspaper of general circulation, and there is
no newspaper of general circulation adjudicated as such within the county,
circulated within the city, then the notice, title, and summary shall be posted
in the manner described in subdivision (b).
9206. Filing of publication affidavit.
Within 10 days after the
date of publication or posting, or both, of the notice of intention and title
and summary, the proponents shall file a copy of the notice and title and
summary as published or posted together with an affidavit made by a
representative of the newspaper in which the notice was published, or, if the
notice was posted, by a voter of the city, certifying to the fact of
publication or posting.
If the notice and title
and summary are both published and posted pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 9205, the proponents shall file affidavits as required by this section
made by a representative of the newspaper in which the notice was published
certifying to the fact that the notice was published and by a voter of the city
certifying to the fact that the notice was posted.
These affidavits, together
with a copy of the notice of intention and title and summary, shall be filed
with the elections official of the legislative body of the city in his or her
office during normal office hours as posted.
9207.
When petition may be circulated.
The proponents may
commence to circulate the petitions among the voters of the city for signatures
by any registered voter of the city after publication or posting, or both, as
required by Section 9205, of the title and summary prepared by the city attorney. Each section of the petition shall bear a
copy of the notice of intention and the title and summary prepared by the city
attorney.
9208.
Securing of signatures and petition filing time.
Signatures upon petitions
and sections of petitions shall be secured, and the petition, together with all
sections of the petition, shall be filed within 180 days from the date of
receipt of the title and summary, or after termination of any action for a writ
of mandate pursuant to Section 9204, and, if applicable, any action for a writ
of mandate pursuant to Section 9204, and, if applicable after receipt of an
amended title or summary or both, whichever occurs later. Petitions and sections thereof shall be filed
in the office of the elections official during normal office hours as
posted. If the petitions are not filed
within the time permitted by this section, the petitions shall be void for all
purposes.
9209.
Affidavit attached to petition.
Each section shall have
attached thereto the declaration of the person soliciting the signatures. This declaration shall be substantially in
the same form as set forth in Section 9022, except that the declaration shall
declare that the circulator is a voter or is qualified to register as a voter
of the city, and shall state his or her residence address at the time of the
execution of the declaration.
9210.
Filing of petition.
The petition shall be
filed by the proponents or by any person or persons authorized in writing by
the proponents. All sections of the
petition shall be filed at one time.
Once filed, no petition section shall be amended except by order of a
court of competent jurisdiction.
When the petition is
presented for filing, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(a) Ascertain the number
of registered voters of the city last reported by the county elections official
to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187 effective at the time the
notice specified in Section 9202 was published.
(b) Determine the total
number of signatures affixed to the petition if from this examination, the
elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie,
equals or is in excess of the minimum number of signatures required, he or she
shall accept the petition for filing.
The petition shall be deemed as filed on that date. Any petition not accepted for filing shall be
returned to the proponents.
9211.
Examination of signatures.
After the petition has
been filed, as herein provided, the elections official shall examine the
petition in the same manner as are county petitions in accordance with Sections
9114 and 9115, except that for the purposes of this section, references to the
board of supervisors shall be treated as references to the legislative body of
the city.
9212.
Report on effect of proposed initiative to legislative body.
(a) During the circulation
of the petition, or before taking either action described in subdivisions (a)
and (b) of Section 9214, or Section 9215, the legislative body may refer the
proposed initiative measure to any city agency or agencies for a report on any
or all of the following:
(1) Its fiscal
impact.
(2) Its effect
on the internal consistency of the city's general and specific plans, including
the housing element, the consistency between planning and zoning, and the
limitations on city actions under Section 65008 of the Government Code and
Chapters 4.2 (commencing with Section 65913) and 4.3 (commencing with Section
65915) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
(3) Its effect
on the use of land, the impact on the availability and location of housing, and
the ability of the city to meet its regional housing needs.
(4) Its impact
on funding for infrastructure of all types, including, but not limited to,
transportation, schools, parks, and open space.
The report may also discuss whether the measure would be likely to
result in increased infrastructure costs or savings, including the costs of
infrastructure maintenance, to current residents and businesses.
(5) Its impact
on the community's ability to attract and retain business and employment.
(6) Its impact
on the uses of vacant parcels of land.
(7) Its impact
on agricultural lands, open space, traffic congestion, existing business
districts, and developed areas designated for revitalization.
(8) Any other
matters the legislative body requests to be in the report.
(b) The report shall be
presented to the legislative body within the time prescribed by the legislative
body, but no later than 30 days after the elections official certifies to the
legislative body the sufficiency of the petition.
9213.
Report on municipal initiatives submitted to Secretary of State; time.
(Not applicable to
initiative proponents.)
9214.
Petition signatures; adopt ordinance or order special election.
If the initiative petition
is signed by not less than 15 percent of the voters of the city according to
the last report of registration by the county elections official to the
Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187, effective at the time the notice
specified in Section 9202 was published, or, in a city with 1,000 or less
registered voters, by 25 percent of the voters or 100 voters of the city,
whichever is the lesser number, and contains a request that the ordinance be
submitted immediately to a vote of the people at a special election, the
legislative body shall do one of the following:
(a) Adopt the ordinance,
without alteration, at the regular meeting at which the certification of the
petition is presented, or within 10 days after it is presented.
(b) Immediately order a
special election, to be held pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1405, at
which the ordinance, without alteration, shall be submitted to a vote of the
voters of the city.
(c) Order a report
pursuant to Section 9212 at the regular meeting at which the certification of
the petition is presented. When the
report is presented to the legislative body, the legislative body shall either
adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to subdivision
(b).
9215. Petition signatures; ordinance submitted
at next regular municipal election.
If the initiative petition
is signed by not less than 10 percent of the voters of the city, according to
the last report of registration by the county elections official to the
Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187, effective at the time the notice
specified in Section 9202 was published, or, in a city with 1,000 or less
registered voters, by 25 percent of the voters or 100 voters of the city,
whichever is the lesser number, and contains a request that the ordinance be
submitted immediately to a vote of the people at a special election, the
legislative body shall do one of the following:
(a) Adopt the ordinance, without alteration, at
the regular meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented, or
within 10 days after it is presented.
(b) Submit the ordinance,
without alteration, to the voters pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1405,
unless the ordinance petitioned for is required to be, or for some reason is,
submitted to the voters at a special election pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 1405.
(c) Order a report
pursuant to Section 9212 at the regular meeting at which the certification of
the petition is presented. When the
report is presented to the legislative body, the legislative body shall either
adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to subdivision
(b).
9216.
Mayor may veto.
In cities having a mayor,
or like officer, with the veto power, when the passage of an ordinance
petitioned for by the voters is vetoed, the failure of the legislative body to
pass the ordinance over the veto shall be deemed a refusal of the legislative
body to pass the ordinance within the meaning of this article.
9217.
Valid ordinance if majority.
If a majority of the
voters voting on a proposed ordinance vote in its favor, the ordinance shall
become a valid and binding ordinance of the city. The ordinance shall be considered as adopted
upon the date that the vote is declared by the legislative body, and shall go
into effect 10 days after that date. No
ordinance that is either proposed by initiative petition and adopted by the
vote of the legislative body of the city without submission to the voters, or adopted
by the voters, shall be repealed or amended except by a vote of the people,
unless provision is otherwise made in the original ordinance.
9218.
More than one ordinance at same election.
Any number of proposed
ordinances may be voted upon at the same election, but the same subject matter
shall not be voted upon twice within any 12-month period at a special election
under the provisions of this article.
9219-9220 (repealed)
9221.
Conflicting ordinances.
If the provisions of two
or more ordinances adopted at the same election conflict, the ordinance
receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall control.
9222.
Legislative body may submit proposed ordinance to voters.
The legislative body of
the city may submit to the voters, without a petition therefor,
a proposition for a repeal, amendment, or enactment of any ordinance, to be
voted upon at any succeeding regular or special city election, and if the
proposition submitted receives a majority of the votes cast on it at the
election, the ordinance shall be repealed, amended, or enacted
accordingly. A proposition may be
submitted, or a special election may be called for the purpose of voting on a
proposition, by ordinance or resolution.
The election shall be held not less than 88 days after the date of the
order of the election.
9223.
Copy of ordinance made available to voter.
Whenever any ordinance or
measure is required by this article to be submitted to the voters of a city at
any election, the elections official of the legislative body shall cause the
ordinance or measure to be printed. A
copy of the ordinance or measure shall be made available to any voter upon
request.
9224.
Enacting clause of ordinance.
The enacting clause of an
ordinance submitted to the voters of a city shall be substantially in the
following form:
The people of the City
of
9225. (repealed)
9226.
Scope of article.
This article does not
apply to any statewide initiative measure.