CHAPTER 141
SENATE BILL No. 107
An Act concerning elections; relating to petitions; amending K.S.A.
25-3601 and 25-3602
and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 25-3601 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 25-
3601. When under the laws of this state (a)
Subject to the provisions of
subsection (d), if a petition is required or authorized as a
part of the
procedure applicable to the state as a whole or any legislative
election
district or to any county, city, school district or other
municipality, or part
thereof, the provisions of this act K.S.A.
25-3601 et seq., and amendments
thereto, shall apply, except as is otherwise
specifically provided in the
statute providing for such petition. The
sufficiency of each signature and
the number thereof on any such petition shall be determined in
accord-
ance with the provisions of K.S.A. 25-3601 to 25-3607, inclusive,
and
amendments thereto by the county election officer or such other
official
as designated in the applicable statute. Before any
petition other than a
recall petition as described in K.S.A. 25-4301
et seq. and amendments
thereto, requesting an election in any political or taxing
subdivision of the
state is circulated, a copy thereof containing the question
to be submitted
shall be filed in the office of the county attorney of the
county or district
attorney of the district in which all or the greater
portion of the political
or taxing subdivision is located for an opinion as to the
legality of the form
of such question. The county or district attorney shall
within five calendar
days following the receipt of such question furnish a
written opinion as
to the legality of the form of the question submitted.
There shall be a
rebuttable presumption that the form of any question
approved by the
county or district attorney complies with the requirements
of this act.
Except as provided herein, a copy of any petition requesting an
election
in any political or taxing subdivision of the state shall be
submitted to the
office of the county attorney of the county or district attorney
of the
district in which all or the greater portion of the political or
taxing sub-
division is located. If a county counselor has been appointed in
the county
or district, the petition shall be submitted to the county
counselor. The
petition shall be submitted either by hand-delivery or by
certified mail,
return receipt requested. Such petition shall contain the
question to be
submitted at the election. Within five calendar days following
submission
of the petition, the county counselor, county attorney or
district attorney
shall furnish a written advisory opinion as to the legality of
the form of
the question contained on the petition. There shall be a
rebuttable pre-
sumption that the form of any question approved by the county
counselor,
county attorney or district attorney complies with the
requirements of
this act. If such opinion is not furnished within five days of
submission
of the question, the form of the question shall be deemed in
compliance
with the requirements of this act.
If the advisory opinion states that the
form of the question contained
in the petition does not comply with the requirements of this
act, such
advisory opinion shall also state specific grounds to support
such deter-
mination.
Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed as prohibiting the circu-
lation of a petition for signatures or the filing of such
petition with the
county election officer prior to obtaining the advisory opinion
required
by this subsection.
(b) Any person challenging the
validity of the form of a question shall
have the burden of proving in the district court that the form
of the
question is invalid.
(c) The form of any question in a
petition requesting an election on
or protesting an ordinance, or resolution, adopted by the
governing body
of any county, city, school district or other municipality shall
be presumed
to be valid and in compliance with the requirements of K.S.A.
25-3601,
et seq., and amendments thereto, if such petition states the
title, number
and exact language of the ordinance, or resolution, and the
title of such
petition states:
``Shall the following ordinance, or
resolution, become effective?''
(d) When any statute
makes specific provisions concerning matters
that other statute imposes specific
requirements which are different from
the requirements imposed by K.S.A. 25-3601 et seq.
and amendments
thereto also has requirements which are different
therefrom, the provi-
sions of the specific statute shall control. The county election
officer or
other official with whom the petition is required to be filed in
accordance
with the applicable statute shall give to persons requesting
information
regarding the filing of petitions a copy of K.S.A. 25-620 and
article 36 of
chapter 25 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments
thereto.
(e) Any action challenging the
validity of the form of a question in a
petition shall be filed in the district court within 20 days
after such pe-
tition has been filed with the county election
officer.
The court shall render an opinion in any
action filed to challenge the
validity of the form of a question in a petition within 20 days
after the
date such action is filed with the court.
(f) The provisions of K.S.A.
25-3601 et seq., and amendments thereto,
shall not apply to recall petitions as described in K.S.A.
25-4301 et seq.,
and amendments thereto.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 25-3602 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 25-
3602. (a) Each petition shall consist of one or more documents
pertaining
to a single issue or proposition under one distinctive title. The
documents
shall be filed with the county election officer or other official,
if another
official is designated in the applicable statutes. The filing shall
be made
at one time all in one group. Later or successive filings of
documents
relating to the same issue or proposition shall be deemed to be
separate
petitions and not a part of any earlier or later filing.
(b) Each petition shall,
Unless otherwise specifically required, each
petition shall: (1) State the question which petitioners
seek to bring to an
election in the form of a question as it should appear upon the
ballot in
accordance with the requirements of K.S.A. 25-620 and K.S.A.
25-3601,
and amendments thereto;
(2) name the taxing subdivision or other
political subdivision in which
an election is sought to be held;
(3) contain the following recital above
the spaces provided for sig-
natures: ``I have personally signed this petition. I am a
registered elector
of the state of Kansas and of
(here insert name of political or taxing
subdivision)
and my residence address is correctly written after my name.''
The recital shall be followed by blank spaces
for the signature, resi-
dence address and date of signing for each person signing the
petition.
When petitioners are required by law to
possess qualifications in ad-
dition to being registered electors, the form of the petition shall
be
amended to contain a recital specifying the additional
qualifications re-
quired and stating that the petitioners possess the qualifications;
and
(4) contain the following recital, at the end
of each set of documents
carried by each circulator: ``I am the circulator of this
petition. I have
personally witnessed the signing of the petition by each person
whose
name appears thereon. I am a resident and a registered elector of
the
state of Kansas and of
,
(here insert name of political or taxing
subdivision)
the political or taxing subdivision in which the election is sought
to be
held.
(Signature of circulator)
(Circulator's residence address)
The recital of the circulator of each petition
shall be verified upon oath
or affirmation before a notarial officer in the manner prescribed
by K.S.A.
53-501, et. seq. and amendments thereto.
(c) Any person who has signed a petition
who desires to withdraw
such person's name may do so by giving written notice to the
county
election officer or other designated official not later than the
third day
following the date upon which the petition is filed.
(d) Any petition shall be null and void
unless submitted to the county
election officer or other designated official within 180 days of
the date of
the first signature on the petition.
(e) Unless the governing body of the
political or taxing subdivision in
which the election is sought to be held authorizes a special
election, all
elections which are called as a result of the filing of a
sufficient petition
shall be held at the next succeeding primary or general election as
defined
by K.S.A. 25-2502, and amendments thereto, in which the political
or
taxing subdivision is participating.
(f) When a petition requires signatures
equal in number to a per-
centage of the total number of registered voters, such percentage
shall
be based on the most recent number of registered voters as
certified to
the office of the secretary of state pursuant to subsection (f) of
K.S.A. 25-
2311, and amendments thereto.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 25-3601 and 25-3602 are hereby
repealed.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved April 19, 2001.
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