Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2093


Introduced by Assembly Member Grove

February 20, 2014


An act to amend Sectionbegin delete 9030end deletebegin insert 9014end insert of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2093, as amended, Grove. Petitions: filings.

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Existing law provides that an initiative or referendum measure may be proposed by filing with elections officials a petition signed by a specified number of voters. Under existing law, the proponents of an initiative measure have 150 days to gather signatures and file the initiative petition, and the proponents of a referendum measure have 90 days to gather signatures and file the referendum petition. Under existing law generally, when the last day to perform an act falls on a holiday, the time in which to perform that act is extended to the next business day.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would specify that, if the final day to file an initiative or referendum petition falls on a holiday, as defined, the petition may be filed with the county elections official on the next business day.

end insert
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Existing law specifies procedures for collecting signatures on a petition for an initiative, referendum, or recall, and for filing the petition and signatures with elections officials.

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This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

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

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

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertThe Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:end insert

begin insert

3(a) Under the California Constitution, an initiative or
4referendum measure may be proposed by presenting to the
5Secretary of State a petition containing a specified number of
6signatures. The California Constitution requires that a petition
7for a referendum measure be submitted within 90 days of the date
8of enactment of the statute that is the subject of the referendum,
9and state law requires that a petition for an initiative measure be
10submitted within 150 days of the date of the circulating title and
11summary furnished by the Attorney General.

end insert
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12(b) In some instances, the final day to submit an initiative or
13referendum petition falls on a holiday, when the offices of state
14and county elections officials are closed. In those circumstances,
15the proponents of an initiative or referendum measure are faced
16with the choice of either submitting the petition prior to the holiday,
17in which case the period to gather signatures would be reduced,
18or submitting the petition after the holiday, in which case the
19proponents would risk rejection of the petition as untimely.

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20(c) While the California Constitution specifies a period of 90
21days to gather signatures for a referendum measure, it gives no
22guidance as to how to construe the 90-day period in those instances
23in which the final day falls on a holiday.

end insert
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24(d) The courts of this state have long held that the initiative and
25the referendum are sacred rights of the people and provisions of
26law shall be liberally construed to give full effect to the powers of
27initiative and referendum.

end insert
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28(e) The framers of the California Constitution did not intend
29that the powers of initiative and referendum should be frustrated
30by the mere happenstance that the final day to submit a petition
31falls on a holiday.

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32(f) It is a general and well-accepted rule of law that, when the
33last day to perform an act falls on a holiday, the time in which to
34perform that act is extended to the next business day.

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35(g) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
36preserve the people’s rights of initiative and referendum by
37clarifying that, in those instances in which the final day to submit
38a petition falls on a holiday, the proponents of the initiative or
P3    1referendum measure may submit the petition on the next business
2day following the holiday.

end insert
3begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 9014 of the end insertbegin insertElections Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to read:end insert

4

9014.  

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insert A petition for a proposed initiativebegin delete measureend delete or
5referendumbegin insert measureend insert shall not be circulated for signatures prior to
6the official summary date.begin delete Aend delete

7begin insert(b)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertSubject to subdivision (d), aend insert petition with signaturesbegin delete onend deletebegin insert forend insert
8 a proposed initiative measure shall be filed with the county
9elections official not later than 150 days from the official summary
10date, andbegin delete noend deletebegin insert aend insert county elections official shallbegin insert notend insert accept a petition
11begin delete onend deletebegin insert forend insert the proposed initiative measure after that period.begin delete Aend delete

12begin insert(c)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertSubject to subdivision (d), aend insert petition for a proposed
13referendum measure shall be filed with the county elections
14begin delete officialsend deletebegin insert officialend insert not later than 90 days from the date the legislative
15bill was chaptered by the Secretary of State, and a county elections
16official shall not accept a petition for the proposed referendum
17begin insert measureend insert after that period.

begin insert

18(d) If the last day to file a petition pursuant to subdivision (b)
19or (c) is a holiday, as defined in Chapter 7 (commencing with
20Section 6700) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the
21petition may be filed with the county elections official on the next
22business day. However, a petition filed pursuant to this subdivision
23shall not be circulated after the petition filing deadline specified
24in subdivision (b) or (c), and a signature obtained after that
25deadline shall not be valid.

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26

SECTION 1.  

Section 9030 of the Elections Code is amended
27to read:

28

9030.  

(a) Each section of the petition shall be filed with the
29elections official of the county or city and county in which it was
30circulated, but all sections circulated in any county or city and
31county shall be filed at the same time. Once filed, a petition section
32shall not be amended except by the order of a court of competent
33jurisdiction.

34(b) Within eight days after the filing of the petition, excluding
35Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the elections official shall
36determine the total number of signatures affixed to the petition
37and shall transmit this information to the Secretary of State. If the
38total number of signatures filed with all elections officials is less
39than 100 percent of the number of qualified voters required to find
40the petition sufficient, the Secretary of State shall so notify the
P4    1proponents and the elections officials, and no further action shall
2be taken with regard to the petition.

3(c) If the number of signatures filed with all elections officials
4is 100 percent or more of the number of qualified voters needed
5to declare the petition sufficient, the Secretary of State shall
6immediately so notify the elections officials.

7(d) Within 30 days after this notification, excluding Saturdays,
8Sundays, and holidays, the elections official shall determine the
9number of qualified voters who have signed the petition. If more
10than 500 names have been signed on sections of the petition filed
11with an elections official, the elections official shall use a random
12sampling technique for verification of signatures, as determined
13by the Secretary of State. The random sample of signatures to be
14verified shall be drawn in such a manner that every signature filed
15with the elections official shall be given an equal opportunity to
16be included in the sample. The random sampling shall include an
17examination of at least 500 or 3 percent of the signatures,
18whichever is greater. In determining from the records of registration
19what number of qualified voters have signed the petition, the
20elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits of
21registered voters or the facsimiles of voters’ signatures, provided
22that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies
23with law.

24(e) The elections official, upon the completion of the
25examination, shall immediately attach to the petition, except the
26signatures thereto appended, a properly dated certificate, showing
27the result of the examination, and shall immediately transmit the
28petition and the certificate to the Secretary of State. A copy of this
29certificate shall be filed in the elections official’s office.

30(f) If the certificates received from all elections officials by the
31Secretary of State establish that the number of valid signatures
32does not equal 95 percent of the number of qualified voters needed
33to find the petition sufficient, the petition shall be deemed to have
34failed to qualify, and the Secretary of State shall immediately so
35notify the proponents and the elections officials.

36(g) If the certificates received from all elections officials by the
37Secretary of State total more than 110 percent of the number of
38qualified voters needed to find the petition sufficient, the petition
39shall be deemed to qualify as of the date of receipt by the Secretary
40of State of certificates showing the petition to have reached the
P5    1110 percent, and the Secretary of State shall immediately so notify
2the proponents and the elections officials.

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