Amended in Senate June 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1117

Introduced by Assembly Member Donnelly

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section 9014.5 to the Elections Code, relating to petitions.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1117, as amended, Donnelly. Initiative petitions: electronic access.

Existing law specifies the process by which a statewide initiative begin insert or referendum end insert measure may be qualified for the ballot, and requires the Secretary of State to prepare and provide to any person, on request, a pamphlet describing certain aspects of that process.

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This bill would require the Secretary of State to make available the petition for an initiative or referendum measure that is currently in circulation in a format that can be downloaded from the official Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and printed so a voter may sign the petition and submit it to the proponent or proponents by mail. The bill would require the Secretary of State to provide the mailing address where a signed petition can be sent and make that address available to the public on the Secretary of State’s official Internet Web site.

end delete begin insert

This bill would require the Secretary of State to provide on his or her Internet Web site an electronic mail address at which the proponent of a proposed initiative or referendum measure may submit to the Secretary of State a copy of the petition for the proposed measure in portable document format. The bill would require the Secretary of State, within 2 business days of receiving a petition in this manner, to provide on his or her Internet Web site a hyperlink by which the petition is available to the public and can be downloaded and printed. The bill would require that a specified disclaimer be included on the Internet Web page that makes the petition available to the public.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 9014.5 is added to the Elections Code,
to read:

9014.5.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The Secretary of State shall end insert begin insert provide on his or her
Internet Web site end insert begin insert an electronic mail address at which the proponent
of a proposed initiative or referendum measure may submit to the
Secretary of State a copy of the petition for the proposed measure
in portable document format (PDF). end insert begin delete The end delete

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Within two business days of receiving a petition for a
proposed initiative or referendum measure end insert begin insert pursuant to subdivision
(a), the end insert Secretary of State shall begin delete make available the end delete begin insert provide on his
or her Internet Web site a hyperlink that is easily accessible to the
public and makes available the end insert petition for begin delete an end delete begin insert the proposed end insert
initiative or referendum measure begin delete that is currently in circulation end delete in
a format that can be downloaded begin insert and printed. end insert begin delete from the official
Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and printed so a voter
may sign the petition and submit it to the proponent or proponents
by mail. The Secretary of State shall provide the mailing address
where a signed petition can be sent and make that mailing address
available to the public on the Secretary of State’s official Internet
Web site. end delete begin insert If the Secretary of State maintains an Internet Web page
regarding proposed initiative and referendum measures currently
in circulation, the hyperlink shall be made available on that
Internet Web page. end insert

begin insert

(c) The Secretary of State shall include on the Internet Web
page from which a petition for a proposed initiative or referendum
measure may be downloaded and printed a disclaimer stating that
the petition was prepared by the proponent of the proposed
measure, that the proponent is solely responsible for its contents,
and that the Secretary of State does not warrant or represent that
the petition is in correct legal form.

end insert begin insert

(d) The Secretary of State shall remove a hyperlink to a petition
for a proposed initiative or referendum measure placed on his or
her Internet Web site pursuant to subdivision (b) within two
business days after the final date for circulation of the petition.

end insert