71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 3043
 
                         House Bill 3610
 
Sponsored by Representative GARDNER
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Modifies procedures for preparing ballot titles for state
initiative measures. Directs Attorney General to prepare measure
summary for each prospective petition. Requires cover sheet and
signature sheets of initiative petition to contain measure
summary.
  Directs Attorney General to prepare ballot title for each
petition that is filed with Secretary of State for verification
of signatures.
  Changes deadline for filing state initiative petitions to not
less than five months before general election.
  Declares emergency, effective on passage.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to ballot titles; creating new provisions; amending ORS
  250.045, 250.065, 250.085 and 250.105; and declaring an
  emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 250.065 is amended to read:
  250.065. (1) When a prospective petition for a state measure to
be referred is filed with the Secretary of State, the secretary
shall authorize the circulation of the petition using the final
measure summary of the measure in lieu of the ballot title. After
the referendum petition has been filed containing the required
number of verified signatures, the Secretary of State immediately
shall send two copies of the prospective petition to the Attorney
General.
  (2) When an approved prospective petition for a state measure
to be initiated is filed with the Secretary of State, the
secretary immediately shall send two copies of it to the Attorney
General.
  (3) Not later than the   { - fifth - }   { + 10th + } business
day after receiving the copies of the prospective petition for a
state measure to be initiated, the Attorney General shall provide
a
  { - draft ballot title - }   { + measure summary + } for the
state measure to be initiated and return one copy of the
prospective petition and the
  { - ballot title - }   { + measure summary + } to the Secretary
of State. { +  The measure summary shall be a statement of not
more than 30 words, printed in boldfaced capital letters, that
describes the subject matter of the measure and its major
effects. The measure summary shall not be subject to review by a
court. + }
  (4) Not later than the 10th business day after receiving the
copies of the prospective petition for a state measure to be
referred, the Attorney General shall provide a draft ballot title
for the state measure to be referred and return one copy of the
prospective petition and the draft ballot title to the Secretary
of State.
   { +  (5) Not later than one business day after an initiative
petition is filed with the Secretary of State for verification of
signatures under ORS 250.105, the Secretary of State shall send a
copy of the petition to the Attorney General. Not later than the
10th business day after receiving the copy of the initiative
petition, the Attorney General shall provide a draft ballot title
for the petition and return one copy of the petition and the
ballot title to the Secretary of State. + }
  SECTION 2. ORS 250.045 is amended to read:
  250.045. (1) Before circulating a petition to initiate or refer
a state measure under section 1, Article IV, Oregon Constitution,
the petitioner shall file with the Secretary of State a
prospective petition. The prospective petition for a state
measure to be initiated shall contain a statement of sponsorship
signed by at least 25 electors. The signatures in the statement
of sponsorship must be accompanied by a certificate of the county
clerk of each county in which the electors who signed the
statement reside, stating the number of signatures believed to be
genuine. The Secretary of State shall date and time stamp the
prospective petition and specify the form on which the petition
shall be printed for circulation. The secretary shall approve or
disapprove the form of any petition signature sheet within five
business days after the signature sheet is submitted for review
by the secretary. The secretary shall retain the prospective
petition.
  (2) The chief petitioner may amend the proposed initiated
measure filed with the Secretary of State without filing another
prospective petition, if:
  (a) The Attorney General certifies to the Secretary of State
that the proposed amendment will not substantially change the
substance of the measure; and
  (b)   { - The deadline for submitting written comments on the
draft title has not passed - }  { +  The Attorney General has not
yet provided the measure summary to the Secretary of State under
ORS 250.065 (3) + }.
  (3) The cover of an initiative or referendum petition shall
designate the name and residence address of not more than three
persons as chief petitioners and shall contain instructions for
persons obtaining signatures of electors on the petition. The
instructions shall be adopted by the Secretary of State by rule.
The cover of a referendum petition shall contain the
 { - title - }  { +  final measure summary + } described in ORS
250.065 (1).   { - If a petition seeking a different ballot title
is not filed with the Supreme Court by the deadline for filing a
petition under ORS 250.085, the cover of an initiative petition
shall contain the ballot title described in ORS 250.067 (2).
However, if the Supreme Court has reviewed the ballot title, the
cover of the initiative petition shall contain the title
certified by the court. - }  { +  The cover of an initiative
petition shall contain the measure summary prepared by the
Attorney General under ORS 250.065 (3) under the heading '
MEASURE SUMMARY FOR CIRCULATION.' + }
  (4) The chief petitioners shall include with the prospective
petition a statement declaring whether one or more persons will
be paid money or other valuable consideration for obtaining
signatures of electors on the initiative or referendum petition.
After the prospective petition is filed, the chief petitioners
shall notify the filing officer not later than the 10th day after
any of the chief petitioners first has knowledge or should have
had knowledge that:
  (a) Any person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the
statement included with the prospective petition declared that no
such person would be paid.
  (b) No person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the
statement included with the prospective petition declared that
one or more such persons would be paid.
  (5)(a) Each sheet of signatures on an initiative petition shall
contain the   { - caption of the ballot title - }  { +  measure
summary prepared under ORS 250.065 (3) + }. Each sheet of
signatures on a referendum petition shall contain the subject
expressed in the title of the Act to be referred.
  (b) Each sheet of signatures on an initiative or referendum
petition shall:
  (A) Contain only the signatures of electors of one county; and
  (B) If one or more persons will be paid for obtaining
signatures of electors on the petition, contain a notice stating:
' Some Circulators For This Petition Are Being Paid.' The notice
shall be in boldfaced type and shall be prominently displayed on
the sheet.
  (c) The Secretary of State by rule shall adopt a method of
designation to distinguish signature sheets of referendum
petitions containing the same subject reference and being
circulated during the same period.
  (6) The reverse side of the cover of an initiative or
referendum petition shall be used for obtaining signatures on an
initiative or referendum petition.
  (7) Not more than 20 signatures on the signature sheet of the
initiative or referendum petition shall be counted. The
circulator shall certify on each signature sheet of the
initiative or referendum petition that the individuals signed the
sheet in the presence of the circulator and that the circulator
believes each individual is an elector.
  (8) The person obtaining signatures on the petition shall carry
at least one full and correct copy of the measure to be initiated
or referred and shall allow any person to review a copy upon
request of the person.
  SECTION 3. ORS 250.085 is amended to read:
  250.085. (1) Any elector dissatisfied with a ballot title
prepared by the Legislative Assembly for a measure referred to
the people by the assembly and filed with the Secretary of State
may petition the Supreme Court seeking a different title. The
petition shall state the reasons that the title filed with the
Secretary of State does not substantially comply with the
requirements of ORS 250.035.
  (2) Any elector dissatisfied with a ballot title for an
initiated or referred measure certified by the Attorney General
and who timely submitted written comments on the draft ballot
title may petition the Supreme Court seeking a different title.
The petition shall state the reasons that the title filed with
the Secretary of State does not substantially comply with the
requirements of ORS 250.035.
  (3) The petition shall name the Attorney General as the
respondent and must be filed:
  (a) Not later than the 10th business day after the Attorney
General certifies a ballot title to the Secretary of State; or
  (b) If the title is provided by the Legislative Assembly under
ORS 250.075, not later than the 10th business day after the
Legislative Assembly files the ballot title with the Secretary of
State.
  (4) An elector filing a petition under this section shall
notify the Secretary of State in writing that the petition has
been filed. The notice shall be given not later than 5 p.m. on
the next business day following the day the petition is filed.
 
  (5) The court shall review the title for substantial compliance
with the requirements of ORS 250.035, and shall certify a title
meeting this standard to the Secretary of State.
  (6) When reviewing a title prepared by the Attorney General,
the court shall not consider arguments concerning the ballot
title not presented in writing to the Secretary of State unless
the court determines that the argument concerns language added to
or removed from the draft title after expiration of the comment
period provided in ORS 250.067.
  (7) The review by the Supreme Court shall be conducted
expeditiously to   { - insure - }   { + ensure + } the orderly
and timely
  { - circulation of the petition or - }  conduct of the election
at which the measure is to be submitted to the electors.
  SECTION 4. ORS 250.105 is amended to read:
  250.105. (1) An initiative or referendum petition relating to a
state measure shall be filed with the Secretary of State for the
purpose of verifying whether the petition contains the required
number of signatures of electors.  { + An initiative petition
relating to a state measure shall be filed with the Secretary of
State under this subsection not less than five months before the
election at which the proposed measure is to be voted upon. + }
The filed petition shall contain only original signatures. Each
petition shall be verified in the order in which the petitions
are filed with the secretary.
  (2) An initiative or referendum petition relating to a state
measure shall not be accepted for filing if it contains less than
100 percent of the required number of signatures.
  (3) If an initiative or referendum petition is submitted not
less than   { - 165 - }   { + 195 + } days before the election at
which the proposed measure is to be voted upon and if the
Secretary of State determines that insufficient signatures have
been submitted but the deadline for filing the petition has not
passed, the petitioners may submit additional signatures.
  (4) The Secretary of State by rule shall designate a
statistical sampling technique to verify whether a petition
contains the required number of signatures of electors. A
petition shall not be rejected for the reason that it contains
less than the required number of signatures unless two separate
sampling processes both establish that the petition lacks the
required number of signatures. The second sampling must contain a
larger number of signatures than the first sampling. If two
samplings are required under this subsection, the total number of
signatures verified on the petition shall be not less than five
percent of the total number of signatures on the petition.
  (5) For purposes of estimating the number of duplicate
signatures contained in a petition, the Secretary of State shall
apply at least an eight percent duplication rate in the first
sampling of signatures on all petitions. If a second sampling of
signatures is required under subsection (4) of this section, the
secretary shall calculate an estimated signature duplication rate
for each petition for which a second sampling is required. For
purposes of calculating an estimated signature duplication rate
for each petition for which a second sampling is required, the
county clerks shall report to the secretary the number of
electors determined to have signed a specific petition more than
once.
  (6) When verifying signatures for a state initiative or
referendum petition, the county clerk shall identify on an
elector's voter registration record or other database that the
elector signed the specific initiative or referendum petition.
  (7) The Secretary of State may employ professional assistance
to determine the sampling technique to be designated under
subsection (4) of this section.
 
 
  SECTION 5.  { + (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of
this section, the amendments to ORS 250.045, 250.065, 250.085 and
250.105 by sections 1 to 4 of this 2001 Act apply to:
  (a) Any prospective petition for a state measure to be
initiated that is filed with the Secretary of State on or after
the effective date of this 2001 Act; and
  (b) Any prospective petition for a state measure to be
initiated that is filed with the Secretary of State prior to the
effective date of this 2001 Act if, on the effective date of this
2001 Act:
  (A) The Attorney General has not yet certified a ballot title
for the state measure to be initiated under ORS 250.067 (2) (1999
Edition);
  (B) The deadline for petitioning the Supreme Court under ORS
250.085 (1999 Edition) to seek a different ballot title for the
state measure to be initiated has not passed; or
  (C) A petition has been filed with the Supreme Court seeking a
different ballot title under ORS 250.085 (1999 Edition) for the
state measure to be initiated, but the court has not yet
certified a title.
  (2) In the case of a prospective petition for a state measure
to be initiated that is filed with the Secretary of State prior
to the effective date of this 2001 Act for which the deadline for
petitioning the Supreme Court under ORS 250.085 (1999 Edition)
has not passed, or for which the Supreme Court has not yet
certified a ballot title, the ballot title certified by the
Attorney General under ORS 250.067 (2) shall be considered the
measure summary for the petition. The amendments to ORS 250.045,
250.065, 250.085 and 250.105 by sections 1 to 4 of this 2001 Act
shall apply to the petition if it is filed with the Secretary of
State for verification of signatures. + }
  SECTION 6.  { + This 2001 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2001 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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