72nd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2003 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 492
 
                         Senate Bill 138
 
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
  President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
  rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
  of the President (at the request of Secretary of State Bill
  Bradbury for the Oregon Association of County Clerks)
 
 
                             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.
 
  Allows city offices and measures to appear in county voters'
pamphlet at primary or general election if city enters into
annual written agreement with county clerk. Requires city to pay
apportioned share of cost of producing county voters' pamphlet.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to county voters' pamphlets; creating new provisions;
  and amending ORS 251.067, 251.335, 251.345 and 251.355.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Section 2 of this 2003 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS 251.305 to 251.435. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) If a city enters into a written agreement
with the county clerk of the county in which the city is located,
a county voters' pamphlet prepared by the county clerk for a
primary or general election shall include for that city all
portraits and statements relating to candidates for city office,
city measures and arguments for or against city measures.
  (2) The agreement shall be binding on the city and the county
clerk for the calendar year to which the agreement refers. The
Secretary of State may adopt rules specifying the contents of
agreements described in this section and any deadlines for
entering into the agreements.
  (3) Notwithstanding ORS 254.046, if a city enters into an
agreement with a county clerk under subsection (1) of this
section, the city shall pay the city's share of the costs of
preparing, printing and distributing the county voters' pamphlet
as apportioned under ORS 251.365. + }
  SECTION 3. ORS 251.067 is amended to read:
  251.067. (1) A candidate or agent on behalf of the candidate
for nomination or election to any county or city office, or to an
elected office of a metropolitan service district organized under
ORS chapter 268, may file a portrait or statement for inclusion
in the state voters' pamphlet under ORS 251.065 if a county
voters' pamphlet described in ORS 251.305 to 251.435 is not
prepared for the election in each county in which the electoral
district of the candidate is located.
 
  (2) A county measure or a measure of a metropolitan service
district organized under ORS chapter 268, and the ballot title,
explanatory statement and arguments relating to the measure,
shall be included in the state voters' pamphlet as provided in
ORS 251.285, if a county voters' pamphlet described in ORS
251.305 to 251.435 is not prepared:
  (a) For the election on the county measure; or
  (b) In each county in which the metropolitan service district
is located, for the election on the metropolitan service district
measure.
  (3) If a county voters' pamphlet described in ORS 251.305 to
251.435 is prepared for an election at which a candidate for
nomination or election to any county or city office, or to an
elected office of a metropolitan service district organized under
ORS chapter 268, is listed on the ballot, or at which a county
measure or a measure of a metropolitan service district organized
under ORS chapter 268 is listed on the ballot  { - , - }  { + :
  (a) + } The county voters' pamphlet shall include the county
 { - or city - }  office, the office of the metropolitan service
district or the county measure or measure of the metropolitan
service district  { - . - }  { + ;
  (b) The county voters' pamphlet shall include the city office
if:
  (A) The election is held on the date of a primary or general
election and the city has entered into an agreement with the
county clerk under section 2 of this 2003 Act; or
  (B) The election is held on a date other than the date of a
primary or general election;
  (c) + }   { - Such - }  Offices and measures  { + included in
the county voters' pamphlet + }   { - shall - }   { + may + } not
be included in any state voters' pamphlet prepared for the
election and distributed in the county for which the county
voters' pamphlet is prepared { + ; and
  (d) City offices may not be included in any state voters'
pamphlet prepared for a primary or general election and
distributed in the county if a county voters' pamphlet is
prepared for the election and the city has not entered into an
agreement with the county clerk under section 2 of this 2003
Act + }.
  (4) If a city or metropolitan service district organized under
ORS chapter 268 is located in more than one county, and a county
in which the city or metropolitan service district is located
does not prepare a county voters' pamphlet described in ORS
251.305 to 251.435 for the election, candidates for nomination or
election to any city office or an elected office of the
metropolitan service district, and any measure of the
metropolitan service district, shall be included in the state
voters' pamphlet to be distributed to the county that does not
prepare a county voters' pamphlet. The Secretary of State shall
designate the candidates and measures that may be included in the
state voters' pamphlet under this subsection.
  SECTION 4. ORS 251.335 is amended to read:
  251.335. (1) Not later than the date specified by the Secretary
of State,  { + and subject to section 2 of this 2003 Act, + } any
candidate for election to county, city or special district office
within the county, or an agent of the candidate, may file with
the county clerk of a county that prepares a county voters'
pamphlet a portrait of the candidate and a typewritten statement
of the reasons the candidate should be elected. The portrait and
statement must comply with the applicable rules of the Secretary
of State. The county clerk shall not accept the filing of a
statement or portrait of any candidate unless the filing is
accompanied by the appropriate fee as prescribed by the Secretary
of State.
  (2) As used in this section, 'district' has the meaning given
that term in ORS 255.012.
  SECTION 5. ORS 251.345 is amended to read:
  251.345. Not later than the date specified by the Secretary of
State,  { + and subject to section 2 of this 2003 Act, + } in a
county that prepares a county voters' pamphlet, the governing
body for any electoral district that has referred a measure to
the voters shall submit an impartial, simple and understandable
statement explaining the measure and its effect.
  SECTION 6. ORS 251.355 is amended to read:
  251.355. (1) Not later than the date specified by the Secretary
of State by rule,  { + and subject to section 2 of this 2003
Act, + } in a county that prepares a county voters' pamphlet, any
person may file with the county clerk a typewritten argument
supporting or opposing any measure to be submitted to the voters
on the ballot. The county clerk shall not accept any arguments
which are not accompanied by the fee established by the Secretary
of State or a petition in a form prescribed by the Secretary of
State. A petition shall contain the signatures of at least four
percent of the electors in the county eligible to vote on the
measure to which the argument refers, or the signatures of 1,000
electors in the county eligible to vote on the measure to which
the argument refers, whichever is less. The number of registered
electors in an electoral district, for the purposes of this
section, shall be calculated on January 1 of each year. Each
person signing the petition shall subscribe to a statement that
the person has read and agrees with the argument. The signatures
on each petition shall be certified by the county clerk in the
manner provided in ORS 249.008. The petition shall be filed with
the county clerk.
  (2) The county clerk shall include in the county voters'
pamphlet, on the page of the printed argument, the name of the
person who submitted the argument, the name of the organization
the person represents, if any, whether the argument supports or
opposes the measure and a disclaimer that the argument does not
constitute an indorsement by the county and that the county does
not warrant the accuracy or truth of any statement made in the
argument.
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