Chapter 793 Oregon Laws 1999

Session Law

AN ACT

SB 867

Relating to elections; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 250.035 and 250.045.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 250.035 is amended to read:

250.035. (1) The ballot title of any measure, other than a state measure, to be initiated or referred shall consist of:

(a) A caption of not more than 10 words which reasonably identifies the subject of the measure;

(b) A question of not more than 20 words which plainly phrases the chief purpose of the measure so that an affirmative response to the question corresponds to an affirmative vote on the measure; and

(2) The ballot title of any state measure to be initiated or referred shall consist of:

(a) A caption of not more than [10] 15 words that reasonably identifies the subject matter of the state measure. The caption of an initiative or referendum amendment to the constitution shall begin with the phrase, "Amends Constitution," which shall not be counted for purposes of the [10-word] 15-word caption limit;

(b) A simple and understandable statement of not more than [15] 25 words that describes the result if the state measure is approved. The statement required by this paragraph shall include either the phrase, "I vote" or "vote yes," or a substantially similar phrase, which may be placed at any point within the statement;

(c) A simple and understandable statement of not more than [15] 25 words that describes the result if the state measure is rejected. The statement required by this paragraph shall not describe existing statutory or constitutional provisions in a way that would lead an average elector to believe incorrectly that one of those provisions would be repealed by approval of the state measure, if approval would not have that result. Any thing or action described both in the statement required by paragraph (b) of this subsection and in the statement required by this paragraph shall be described using the same terms in both statements, to the extent practical. Any different terms must be terms that an average elector would understand to refer to the same thing or action. The statement shall include either the phrase, "I vote" or "vote no," or a substantially similar phrase, which may be placed at any point within the statement; and

(d) A concise and impartial statement of not more than [85] 125 words summarizing the state measure and its major effect.

(3) The statements required by subsection (2)(b) and (c) of this section shall be written so that, to the extent practical, the language of the two statements is parallel.

(4) The statement required by subsection (2)(b) of this section shall be written so that an affirmative response to the statement corresponds to an affirmative vote on the state measure.

(5) The statement required by subsection (2)(c) of this section shall be written so that an affirmative response to the statement corresponds to a negative vote on the state measure.

(6) To avoid confusion, a ballot title shall not resemble any title previously filed for a measure to be submitted at that election.

(7) In the statements required by subsection (2)(b), (c) and (d) of this section, reasonable discretion shall be allowed in the use of articles and conjunctions, but the statements shall not omit articles and conjunctions that are necessary to avoid confusion to or misunderstanding by an average elector.

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.

(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 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.

(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;

(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"; and

(C) If the person obtaining the signatures on the petition is being paid, contain a notice stating that the person obtaining the signatures is 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. Each signature sheet of the initiative or referendum petition shall be verified on its face by the signed statement of the circulator 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. (1) The amendments to ORS 250.035 by section 1 of this 1999 Act do not apply to any ballot title prepared for:

(a) Any initiative petition that, if filed with the Secretary of State with the required number of signatures of qualified electors, will be submitted to the people at the general election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2000; or

(b) Any state measure to be referred that is to be voted upon at an election held prior to or on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2000.

(2) The amendments to ORS 250.035 by section 1 of this 1999 Act apply to ballot titles prepared for:

(a) Any initiative petition that, if filed with the Secretary of State with the required number of signatures of qualified electors, will be submitted to the people at a general election occurring after the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2000, regardless of when the prospective petition for the initiative petition is filed; or

(b) Any state measure to be referred that is to be voted upon at an election held after the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2000.

(3) The amendments to ORS 250.045 by section 2 of this 1999 Act apply to petitions to initiate or refer a state measure for which a prospective petition is filed on or after the effective date of this 1999 Act.

Approved by the Governor July 20, 1999

Filed in the office of Secretary of State July 20, 1999

Effective date October 23, 1999

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