SECTIONS 9100-9126 - California Statutes

ELECTIONS CODE

SECTION 9100-9126

9100. In addition to any other method provided by law, ordinances
may be enacted by any county pursuant to this article.

9101. Any proposed ordinance may be submitted to the board of
supervisors by filing an initiative petition with the county
elections official, signed by not less than the number of voters
specified in this article.
Each petition section shall comply with Sections 100 and 9020 and
contain a full and correct copy of the notice of intention and
accompanying statement including the full text of the proposed
ordinance.

9102. Any proposal to enact, amend, or otherwise revise a county
charter by initiative petition may be submitted to the board of
supervisors and shall be subject to this article. However, nothing in
this article shall be construed to allow a board of supervisors to
enact, amend, or otherwise revise a county charter without submitting
the proposal to the voters.

9103. (a) Before circulating any initiative petition in a county,
or any petition relating to the annexation of territory by a county,
the consolidation of counties, or the dissolution of a county, its
proponents shall file with the county elections official a notice of
intention to do so. The notice shall include the names and business
or residence addresses of at least one but not more than five
proponents of the petition, and shall be accompanied by the written
text of the initiative and a request that a ballot title and summary
be prepared.
(b) Any person filing a notice of intent with the county elections
official shall pay a fee to be established by the board of
supervisors not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) to be refunded
to the filer if, within one year of the date of filing the notice of
intent, the county elections official certifies the sufficiency of
the petition.

9104. The notice of intention shall contain the printed name,
signature, and business or residence address of at least one but not
more than five proponents, and may include a printed statement, not
exceeding 500 words in length, stating the reasons for the proposed
petition. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

Notice of Intention to Circulate Petition

Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of
their intention to circulate the petition within the County of ____
for the purpose of ____. A statement of the reasons of the proposed
action as contemplated in the petition is as follows: (optional
statement).

9105. (a) The county elections official shall immediately transmit
a copy of any proposed measure to the county counsel. Within 15 days
after the proposed measure is filed, the county counsel shall provide
and return to the county elections official a ballot title and
summary for the proposed measure. The ballot title may differ from
any other title of the proposed measure and shall express in 500
words or less the purpose of the proposed measure. In providing the
ballot title, the county counsel shall give a true and impartial
statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language
that the ballot title shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to
create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.
(b) The county elections official shall furnish a copy of the
ballot title and summary to the proponents of the proposed measure.
The proponents shall, prior to the circulation of the petition,
publish the Notice of Intention, and the ballot title and summary of
the proposed measure in a newspaper of general circulation published
in that county, and file proof of publication with the county
elections official.
(c) The ballot title and summary prepared by the county counsel
shall appear upon each section of the petition, above the text of the
proposed measure and across the top of each page of the petition on
which signatures are to appear, in roman boldface type not smaller
than 12 point. The ballot title and summary shall be clearly
separated from the text of the measure. The text of the measure shall
be printed in type not smaller than 8 point.
The heading of the proposed measure shall be in substantially the
following form:
Initiative Measure to be Submitted Directly to the
Voters
The county counsel has prepared the following title and summary of
the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure:
(Here set forth the title and summary prepared by the county
counsel. This title and summary must also be printed across the top
of each page of the petition whereon signatures are to appear.)

9106. Any elector of the county may seek a writ of mandate
requiring the ballot title or summary prepared by the county counsel
to be amended. The court shall expedite hearing on the writ. A
peremptory writ of mandate shall be issued only upon clear and
convincing proof that the ballot title or summary is false,
misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements of Section 9105.

9107. The county elections official shall ascertain the number of
signatures required to sign the petition by obtaining the number of
votes cast within the county for all candidates for Governor at the
last gubernatorial election preceding the publication of the notice
of intention to circulate the initiative petition.

9108. The proponents may commence to circulate the petitions among
the voters of the county for signatures by any registered voter of
the county after publication of the title and summary prepared by the
county counsel. Each section of the petition shall bear a copy of
the notice of intention, and the title and summary prepared by the
county counsel.

9109. Each petition section shall have attached to it an affidavit
to be completed by the circulator. The affidavit shall be
substantially in the same form as set forth in Section 104.

9110. Signatures shall be secured and the petition shall be
presented to the county elections official for filing within 180 days
from the date of receipt of the title and summary, or after
termination of any action for a writ of mandate pursuant to Section
9106 and, if applicable, after receipt of an amended title or summary
or both, whichever occurs later.

9111. (a) During the circulation of the petition or before taking
either action described in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 9116,
or Section 9118, the board of supervisors may refer the proposed
initiative measure to any county agency or agencies for a report on
any or all of the following:
(1) Its fiscal impact.
(2) Its effect on the internal consistency of the county's general
and specific plans, including the housing element, the consistency
between planning and zoning, and the limitations on county actions
under Section 65008 of the Government Code and Chapters 4.2
(commencing with Section 65913) and 4.3 (commencing with Section
65915) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
(3) Its effect on the use of land, the impact on the availability
and location of housing, and the ability of the county to meet its
regional housing needs.
(4) Its impact on funding for infrastructure of all types,
including, but not limited to, transportation, schools, parks, and
open space. The report may also discuss whether the measure would be
likely to result in increased infrastructure costs or savings,
including the costs of infrastructure maintenance, to current
residents and businesses.
(5) Its impact on the community's ability to attract and retain
business and employment.
(6) Its impact on the uses of vacant parcels of land.
(7) Its impact on agricultural lands, open space, traffic
congestion, existing business districts, and developed areas
designated for revitalization.
(8) Any other matters the board of supervisors request to be in
the report.
(b) The report shall be presented to the board of supervisors
within the time prescribed by the board of supervisors, but no later
than 30 days after the county elections official certifies to the
board of supervisors the sufficiency of the petition.

9112. On or before April 1 of each odd-numbered year, the county
elections official of each county shall file a report with the
Secretary of State containing the following information:
(a) The number of county initiative petitions circulated during
the preceding two calendar years that did not qualify for the ballot,
and the number of these proposed initiatives for which reports were
prepared pursuant to Section 9111.
(b) With respect to county initiative measures that qualified for
the ballot in the preceding two calendar years, the number that were
approved by the voters, and the number of these ballot measures for
which reports were prepared pursuant to Section 9111.
(c) With respect to county initiative measures that qualified for
the ballot in the preceding two calendar years, the number which were
not approved by the voters, and the number of these ballot measures
for which reports were prepared pursuant to Section 9111.

9113. The petition shall be filed by the proponents, or by any
person or persons authorized in writing by the proponents. All
sections of the petition shall be filed at one time. Any sections of
the petition not so filed shall be void for all purposes. Once filed,
no petition section shall be amended except by order of a court of
competent jurisdiction.
When the petition is filed, the county elections official shall
determine the total number of signatures affixed to the petition. If,
from this examination, the county elections official determines that
the number of signatures, prima facie, equals or is in excess of the
minimum number of signatures required, the county elections official
shall examine the petition in accordance with Section 9114 or 9115.
If, from this examination, the county elections official determines
that the number of signatures, prima facie, does not equal or exceed
the minimum number of signatures required, no further action shall be
taken.

9114. Except as provided in Section 9115, within 30 days from the
date of filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and
holidays, the elections official shall examine the petition, and from
the records of registration ascertain whether or not the petition is
signed by the requisite number of voters. A certificate showing the
results of this examination shall be attached to the petition.
In determining the number of valid signatures, the elections
official may use the duplicate file of affidavits maintained, or may
check the signatures against facsimiles of voters' signatures,
provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles
complies with law.
The elections official shall notify the proponents of the petition
as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition.
If the petition is found insufficient, no further action shall be
taken. However, the failure to secure sufficient signatures, shall
not preclude the filing of a new petition on the same subject, at a
later date.
If the petition is found sufficient, the elections official shall
certify the results of the examination to the board of supervisors at
the next regular meeting of the board.

9115. (a) Within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, if, from the examination
of petitions pursuant to Section 9114 shows that more than 500
signatures have been signed on the petition, the elections official
may use a random sampling technique for verification of signatures.
The random sample of signatures to be verified shall be drawn so that
every signature filed with the elections official shall be given an
equal opportunity to be included in the sample. The random sampling
shall include an examination of at least 500, or 3 percent of the
signatures, whichever is greater.
(b) If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid
signatures is within 95 to 110 percent of the number of signatures of
qualified voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, the
elections official shall, within 60 days from the date of the filing
of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, examine
and verify each signature filed.
(c) In determining from the records of registration, what number
of valid signatures are signed on the petition, the elections
official may use the duplicate file of affidavits maintained, or may
check the signatures against facsimiles of voters' signatures,
provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles
complies with law.
(d) The elections official shall attach to the petition, a
certificate showing the result of this examination, and shall notify
the proponents of either the sufficiency or insufficiency of the
petition.
(e) If the petition is found insufficient, no action shall be
taken on the petition. However, the failure to secure sufficient
signatures shall not preclude the filing later of an entirely new
petition to the same effect.
(f) If the petition is found to be sufficient, the elections
official shall certify the results of the examination to the board of
supervisors at the next regular meeting of the board.

9116. If the initiative petition is signed by voters not less in
number than 20 percent of the entire vote cast within the county for
all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election
preceding the publication of the notice of intention to circulate an
initiative petition, and contains a request that the ordinance be
submitted immediately to a vote of the people at a special election,
the board of supervisors shall do one of the following:
(a) Adopt the ordinance without alteration either at the regular
meeting at which the certification of the petition is presented, or
within 10 days after it is presented.
(b) Immediately call a special election pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 1405, at which the ordinance, without alteration,
shall be submitted to a vote of the voters of the county.
(c) Order a report pursuant to Section 9111 at the regular meeting
at which the certification of the petition is presented. When the
report is presented to the board of supervisors, it shall either
adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to
subdivision (b).

9118. If the initiative petition is signed by voters not less in
number than 10 percent of the entire vote cast in the county for all
candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election preceding
the publication of the notice of intention to circulate an initiative
petition, the board of supervisors shall do one of the following:
(a) Adopt the ordinance without alteration at the regular meeting
at which the certification of the petition is presented, or within 10
days after it is presented.
(b) Submit the ordinance, without alteration, to the voters
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1405, unless the ordinance
petitioned for is required to be, or for some reason is, submitted to
the voters at a special election pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 1405.
(c) Order a report pursuant to Section 9111 at the regular meeting
at which the certification of the petition is presented. When the
report is presented to the board of supervisors, it shall either
adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election pursuant to
subdivision (b).

9119. Whenever any ordinance is required by this article to be
submitted to the voters of a county at any election, the county
elections official shall cause the ordinance to be printed. A copy of
the ordinance shall be made available to any voter upon request.

9120. Article 3 (commencing with Section 9160) shall govern the
procedures for submitting arguments for county initiatives.

9121. Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted upon at the
same election.

9122. If a majority of the voters voting on a proposed ordinance
vote in its favor, the ordinance shall become a valid and binding
ordinance of the county. The ordinance shall be considered as adopted
upon the date the vote is declared by the board of supervisors, and
shall go into effect 10 days after that date.

9123. If the provisions of two or more ordinances adopted at the
same election conflict, the ordinance receiving the highest number of
affirmative votes shall control.

9124. The enacting clause of an ordinance submitted to the voters
of a county shall be substantially in the following form:
"The people of the County of ____ ordain as follows:"

9125. No ordinance proposed by initiative petition and adopted
either by the board of supervisors without submission to the voters
or adopted by the voters shall be repealed or amended except by a
vote of the people, unless provision is otherwise made in the
original ordinance. In all other respects, an ordinance proposed by
initiative petition and adopted shall have the same force and effect
as any ordinance adopted by the board of supervisors.

9126. This article does not apply to any statewide initiative
measure.