74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 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 952
Senate Bill 124
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 Attorney General Hardy
Myers for Department of Justice)
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 Attorney General to correct clerical errors in draft or
certified ballot titles prepared by Attorney General for state
initiative petitions and referendum measures. Sets deadline for
making corrections. Specifies that time for filing petition for
judicial review of corrected ballot title begins on date
corrected title is certified.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to ballot titles; creating new provisions; and amending
ORS 250.045, 250.067, 250.085 and 254.085.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 250.067 is amended to read:
250.067. (1) The Secretary of State, upon receiving a draft
ballot title from the Attorney General under ORS 250.065 or
250.075, shall provide reasonable statewide notice of having
received the draft ballot title and of the public's right to
submit written comments as provided in this section. Written
comments concerning a draft ballot title { - shall - }
{ + may + } be submitted to the secretary { - of State - }
not later than the 10th business day after the secretary { - of
State - } receives the draft title from the Attorney General. On
the next business day after the deadline for submitting comments
{ - to the secretary of State - } , the secretary shall send a
copy of all written comments to the Attorney General. The
secretary shall maintain a record of written comments received.
(2) { + (a) If written comments are submitted to the secretary
under subsection (1) of this section, + }the Attorney General
shall consider { - any written comments submitted under
subsection (1) of this section and shall - } { + the comments
and + } certify to the secretary
{ - of State - } either the draft ballot title or a revised
ballot title not later than the 10th business day after receiving
the comments from the secretary { - of State - } .
{ + (b) + } If no written comments are submitted to the
secretary { - of State - } , the Attorney General shall certify
the draft ballot title not later than the 20th business day after
the secretary { - of State - } receives the draft title from
the Attorney General. { + If the Attorney General determines
that a draft ballot title described in this paragraph contains a
clerical error, the Attorney General may correct the error before
certifying the corrected draft ballot title to the secretary.
(c) If the Attorney General determines that a ballot title
certified under this subsection contains a clerical error, the
Attorney General may correct the error and certify to the
secretary a corrected ballot title not later than the 10th
business day after the date the ballot title was certified.
(d) + } The secretary { - of State - } shall furnish the
chief petitioner with a copy of { - the - } { + each + }
ballot title { + certified under this subsection + }.
(3) Unless the Supreme Court certifies a different ballot
title, the { + latest + } ballot title { - provided - } { +
certified + } by the Attorney General under subsection (2) of
this section { - shall be - } { + is + } the title { + to
be + } printed in the voters' pamphlet and on the ballot.
(4) If a petition for review of a ballot title is filed with
the Supreme Court as provided in ORS 250.085, the Secretary of
State shall file with the Supreme Court a copy of the written
comments received as part of the record on review of the ballot
title.
(5) The secretary { - of State - } by rule shall specify the
means for providing reasonable statewide notice for submitting
comments on a draft ballot title.
SECTION 2. 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 - } { + the
latest + } 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 { + or a corrected ballot
title + } to the Secretary of State { + , whichever is later + };
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 must be received in the office of the
Secretary of State not later than 5 p.m. on the next business day
following the day the petition is filed.
(5) The Supreme Court shall review the title for substantial
compliance with the requirements of ORS 250.035.
(6) When reviewing a title { - prepared - }
{ + certified + } by the Attorney General, the Supreme 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 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.
(8) If the Supreme Court determines that the { + latest
ballot + } title certified by the Attorney General or prepared by
the Legislative Assembly substantially complies with the
requirements of ORS 250.035, the court shall certify the title to
the Secretary of State. If the Supreme Court determines that the
{ + latest ballot + } title certified by the Attorney General or
prepared by the Legislative Assembly does not substantially
comply with the requirements of ORS 250.035, the court shall
modify the ballot title and certify the ballot title to the
Secretary of State or refer the ballot title to the Attorney
General for modification.
(9) Not later than five business days after the Supreme Court
refers a ballot title to the Attorney General under this section,
the Attorney General shall file a modified ballot title with the
Supreme Court and serve copies of the modified ballot title on
all parties to the ballot title review proceeding. If no party to
the ballot title review proceeding files an objection to the
modified ballot title within five business days after the date
the modified ballot title is filed, the Supreme Court shall
certify the modified ballot title to the Secretary of State and
enter an appellate judgment the next judicial day. If any of the
parties to the ballot title review proceeding timely files a
petition objecting to the modified ballot title, the Supreme
Court shall review the modified ballot title to determine whether
the modified ballot title substantially complies with the
requirements of ORS 250.035.
(10) Upon the filing of a petition under subsection (9) of this
section objecting to a modified ballot title:
(a) If the Supreme Court determines that the modified ballot
title substantially complies with the requirements of ORS
250.035, the court shall certify the modified ballot title to the
Secretary of State; or
(b) If the Supreme Court determines that the modified ballot
title does not substantially comply with the requirements of ORS
250.035, the court shall modify the ballot title and certify the
ballot title to the Secretary of State or refer the modified
ballot title to the Attorney General for additional modification
and further proceedings under subsection (9) of this section.
SECTION 3. 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 statement of sponsorship
shall be attached to a full and correct copy of the measure to be
initiated. 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.
(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 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
{ + latest + } ballot title
{ - described in - } { + certified by the Attorney General
under + } 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.
(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. 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 4. ORS 254.085 is amended to read:
254.085. (1) The Secretary of State, not later than the 61st
day before the date of a primary or general election, shall file
with each county clerk a statement of the state and congressional
district offices to be filled or for which candidates are to be
nominated in the county at the election, information concerning
all candidates for the offices, and the state measures to be
voted on.
(2) The information concerning candidates for the Supreme
Court, Court of Appeals, Oregon Tax Court and circuit court shall
include a designation of incumbent for each candidate who is the
regularly elected or appointed judge of the court to which the
candidate seeks election. If a candidate was regularly elected or
appointed to a specific position or department on the court, the
candidate shall be designated as the incumbent only if the person
is a candidate for that position or department.
(3) Included with each state measure shall be the measure
number, the { + latest + } ballot title { - prepared - } { +
certified + } by the Attorney General under ORS 250.067 (2) or,
if the Supreme Court has reviewed the title under ORS 250.085,
the title certified by the court and the financial estimates
under ORS 250.125. The Secretary of State shall keep a copy of
the statement.
SECTION 5. { + The amendments to ORS 250.067 and 250.085 by
sections 1 and 2 of this 2007 Act apply to ballot titles first
filed by the Attorney General as draft ballot titles on or after
the effective date of this 2007 Act. + }
----------