Brief ⁽¹⁾

SB 107 requires a petition to be submitted by hand-delivery or certified mail to the office of the county or district attorney to determine the legality of the form of the question on any petition requesting an election on an ordinance or resolution adopted by the governing body of any county, city, school district, or other municipality. If a county counselor has been appointed in the county or district, the petition shall be submitted to the county counselor. If an advisory opinion is not provided within five days, the form of the question shall be deemed to be valid. The bill allows persons to circulate a petition prior to obtaining the advisory opinion.

The bill places the burden on any person challenging the validity of the petition to prove in district court that the form is invalid. The challenge in district court would have to be filed within 20 days after such petition has been filed with the county election officer. The bill requires the court to render an opinion on the validity of the form of a question on a petition within 20 days after the date of filing with the court.

The bill provides that the form of the question would be considered valid if the petition contained the title, number, exact language of the ordinance or petition, and the title states, "Shall the following ordinance or resolution become effective?"

Other changes in the bill are technical in nature.

Background

SB 107, as introduced, removed the county or district attorney from the process of determining the legality of the form of question.

The Senate Committee of the Whole amendment was technical in nature.

The House Committee on Ethics and Elections reinstated the current law of requiring the county or district attorney to determine the legality of the form. The Committee also amended the bill to require the petition to be hand-delivered or by certified mail and required the court to render an opinion within 20 days of filing.

The House Committee of the Whole amendment required the petition to be submitted to the county counselor if one has been appointed.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext.cgi