AB 2093, as amended, Grove. Petitions: filings.
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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) Under the California Constitution, an initiative or referendum
4measure may be proposed by presenting to the Secretary of State
5a petition containing a specified number of signatures. The
6California Constitution requires that a petition for a referendum
7measure be submitted within 90 days of the date of enactment of
8the statute that is the subject of the referendum, and state law
9requires that a petition for an initiative measure be submitted within
10150 days of the date of the circulating title and summary furnished
11by the Attorney General.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
35(g) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
36preserve the people’s rights of initiative and referendum by
37
clarifying 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.
Section 9014 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
(a) A petition for a proposed initiative or referendum
5measure shall not be circulated for signatures prior to the official
6summary date.
7(b) Subject to subdivision (d), a petition with signatures for a
8proposed initiative measure shall be filed with the county elections
9official not later than 150 days from the official summary date,
10and a county elections official shall not accept a petition for the
11proposed initiative measure after that period.
12(c) Subject to subdivision (d), a petition for a proposed
13referendum measure shall be filed with the county elections official
14not later than 90 days from the date the legislative bill
was
15chaptered by the Secretary of State, and a county elections official
16shall not accept a petition for the proposed referendum measure
17after that period.
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,
21the petition may be filed with the county elections official on the
22next business day.begin delete However, a petition filed pursuant to this
23subdivision shall not be circulated after the petition filing deadline
24specified in subdivision (b) or (c), and a signature obtained after
25that deadline shall not be valid.end delete
begin insertThis act shall not be construed to affect any matter
27pending in the courts of this state on the date this act is enacted.end insert
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