Only matters of legislation may be subjected
to initiative and referendum.
A.
Initiative.
(1)
The qualified electors of the Municipality shall have
the power to propose ordinances to Council by an initiative petition
in accordance with the procedures set forth herein. Should Council
fail to adopt the proposed ordinance, without any change in substance,
the proposed ordinance shall be placed on the ballot at a regular
or special election, as provided herein, for adoption or rejection
by the voters of the Municipality.
(2)
No proposed initiative ordinance shall contain more
than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.
(3)
The power of initiative shall not extend to the budget,
or capital program, or any ordinance relating to appropriation of
money, zoning, levy of taxes, or salaries of officials or employees
of the Municipality, or to any matter which Council itself is prohibited
from legislating upon.
B.
Referendum.
(1)
The qualified electors of the Municipality shall have
the power to require Council to reconsider any ordinance, or part
thereof, in accordance with the procedures set forth herein. Should
Council fail to repeal an ordinance, or part thereof, so reconsidered,
the ordinance, or part thereof, shall be placed on the ballot at a
regular or special election as provided herein, for adoption or rejection
by the voters of the Municipality.
(2)
The power to require reconsideration shall not extend
to the budget, or capital program, any emergency ordinance, zoning
or any ordinance relating to the appropriation of money, or salaries
of officials and employees of the Municipality.
Any qualified elector(s) may begin initiative
or referendum proceedings by filing with the Municipal Secretary an
affidavit stating that said elector(s) will constitute the petitioners'
committee, stating name(s) and address(es) and the address to which
all notices to the committee are to be sent. The affidavit shall also
include the full text of the proposed ordinance or cite the ordinance,
or part thereof, sought to be reconsidered. The petitioners' committee
shall be responsible for circulating the petition and for filing it
in proper form within the 45 days after filing the committee's affidavit,
except in the case of a referendum petition which must be filed within
45 days after adoption by Council of the ordinance, or part thereof,
sought to be reconsidered. Upon the filing of the committee's affidavit,
the Municipal Secretary shall issue the appropriate petition blanks
if so requested by the petitioners' committee.
A.
Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed
by qualified electors of the Municipality equal in number to 20% of
the registered electors of the Municipality at the time of the most
recent general or municipal election.
B.
All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size
and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing. Each
signature must be executed in ink and must be followed by the address
and the municipality of the person signing and the date of the signing.
The full text of the ordinance, or part thereof, proposed or sought
to be reconsidered must be contained within or attached to each paper
of the petition throughout its circulation.
C.
Each paper of the petition shall have attached to
it when it is filed an affidavit of the circulator which states that
the circulator personally circulated the paper, the number of signatures
it contains, that all signatures were affixed in the circulator's
presence, that the circulator believes them to be the genuine signatures
of the persons whose names they purport to be, and that each signer
had an opportunity to read the full text attached before signing the
petition.
Within 20 days after the petition is filed, the Municipal Secretary shall certify its sufficiency specifying in exactly which ways, if any, it is deficient and shall immediately send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners' committee by registered mail. A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be supplemented by an additional petition which shall be filed within five days after receipt of the certificate. The supplemental petition shall comply with all the requirements of § C-130 herein. The Municipal Secretary shall certify the original and supplemental petition which shall be treated as one within five days after the supplemental petition is filed and shall notify the petitioners' committee in the same manner as previously set forth in this section. Should the petitioners' committee be dissatisfied with the certification of the Municipal Secretary, it may, within five days of receipt of the certification, file a written request to Council to review the certification. Council shall review the certification and approve or disapprove it at its next regular meeting.
When a referendum petition is filed with the
Municipal Secretary, the ordinance, or part thereof, sought to be
reconsidered shall be suspended from taking or continuing in effect.
The suspension shall end when:
When any initiative or referendum petition has
been finally determined sufficient, the governing body shall promptly
consider the proposed initiative ordinance, in the same manner as
other ordinances, or reconsider the ordinance, or part thereof, cited
in the referendum petition. Should Council fail to adopt the proposed
initiative ordinance without any change in substance within 30 days
after the date the petition was finally certified as being sufficient,
or fail to repeal the ordinance, or part thereof, cited in the referendum
petition within 30 days after the date the petition was finally certified
as being sufficient, Council shall cause the proposed or cited ordinance,
or part thereof, to be submitted to the voters of the Municipality.
The vote of the Municipality on a proposed or
cited ordinance, or part thereof, shall be at the first regular or
special election at which the question can be placed on the ballot
in accordance with the election laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Copies of the proposed or cited ordinance, or part thereof, shall
be made available by Council to the public at least 10 days before
the scheduled election and at the polls.
An initiative or referendum petition may be
withdrawn by the written request of the majority of the petitioners'
committee at any time prior to the deadline set by the Board of Elections
for the removal of such questions from the ballot. Should a petition
be withdrawn, all proceedings thereunder shall be terminated.
A.
If a majority of the votes cast on the question are
in favor of the proposed initiative ordinance, the ordinance shall
be considered adopted upon certification of the election results and
shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as those ordinances
adopted by Council pursuant to this Charter.
B.
If a majority of the votes cast on the question are
in favor of repeal of the ordinance, or part thereof, cited in the
referendum petition, the ordinance, or part thereof, shall be considered
repealed upon certification of the election results.
C.
The Mayor shall have no veto power in connection with
initiative or referendum.
Any initiative ordinance approved by the voters
may not be amended or repealed by Council for two years from its adoption.
Should any initiative ordinance be rejected
by the voters, such ordinance may not again be submitted to the voters
within two years of the date of rejection.
If conflicting ordinances, or parts thereof,
are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest
number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
