A.
Initiative. The qualified electors of the municipality shall have
the power to propose ordinances to Council by an initiative petition
in accordance with the procedure set forth herein.
B.
Referendum. The qualified electors of the municipality shall have
the power to require Council to reconsider an adopted ordinance or
part thereof in accordance with the procedure set forth herein.
Any five (5) qualified electors of the municipality may begin
initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the Municipal
Manager an affidavit stating that they will constitute the Petitioners'
Committee, stating their names and addresses and the address to which
all notices to the Committee are to be sent. The affidavit shall also
include the full text of the ordinance or cite the ordinance sought
to be reconsidered. The Petitioners' Committee shall be responsible
for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form within forty-five
(45) days after filing the Committee's affidavit. The Municipal
Manager shall have issued the appropriate petition blanks if so requested
by the Petitioners' Committee.
Petitions shall be signed by ten percent (10%) of the registered
electors of the municipality at large or five percent (5%) of the
registered electors from each ward of the municipality. Figures shall
be certified from the most recent general or municipal election.
All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style
and shall be assembled as one (1) instrument for filing. Each signature
must be followed by the address of the person signing and the date
of 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.
Petitions shall be verified by an oath or affirmation of one
(1) or more signers thereof, taken and subscribed before a person
qualified under the laws of Pennsylvania to administer an oath, to
the effect that the petition was signed by each of the signers thereof
in their proper handwriting, that the signers are to the best knowledge
and belief of the affiant registered electors of the municipality
and that the petition is prepared and filed in good faith for the
sole purpose of requiring action of the Council as stated in the petition.
Within ten (10) days after the petition is filed, the Municipal
Manager shall certify its sufficiency and notify the Petitioners'
Committee by registered mail. If a petition is declared insufficient,
the Petitioners' Committee may file a supplemental petition within
ten (10) days. The supplemental petition must comply with all the
requirements of Section 2403.[1] The original and supplemental petition shall be treated
as one (1), and notification of sufficiency sent to the Petitioners'
Committee in the same manner as previously set forth in this section.
[1]
Editor's Note: This reference should apparently be to
Section 2303.
If the Petitioners' Committee is dissatisfied with the
certification of the Municipal Manager, it may, within ten (10) days
of the receipt of the certification, file a written request to Council
to review the certification at its next regular meeting after filing
of the request and approve or disapprove it. A final determination
as to the insufficiency of a petition shall be subject to court review.
When a referendum petition is filed with the Municipal Manager,
the ordinance sought to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking
effect. Such suspension shall end when:
A.
Action by Council. When an initiative or referendum petition has
finally been determined sufficient, Council shall consider promptly
the proposed initiative ordinance in the same manner as other ordinances
or reconsider the ordinance cited in the referendum petition by voting
its repeal. If Council fails to adopt the proposed initiative ordinance
without change in substance within sixty (60) days or fails to repeal
the ordinance cited in the referendum petition within thirty (30)
days after the date the petition was finally determined sufficient,
it shall submit the proposed or cited ordinance to the electors of
the municipality.
B.
Submission to electors. The vote of the electors on a proposed or
cited ordinance shall be held at the earliest available election but
not sooner than thirty (30) days from the date of the final Council
action, in accordance with the provisions of the election laws of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The proposed or cited ordinance
shall be available to the public for viewing at the municipal offices
at least ten (10) days before the scheduled election.
C.
Withdrawal of petition. An initiative or referendum petition may
be withdrawn at any time prior to the 30th day preceding the day scheduled
for a vote in the municipality on the petition. No petition shall
be withdrawn except by written request signed by four (4) members
of the Petitioners' Committee. Upon filing of a withdrawal request,
the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings
thereon shall be terminated.
A.
Initiative. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question vote in favor of the proposed initiative ordinance, the ordinance
shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results
by the Election Bureau and shall be treated in all respects in the
same manner as ordinances of the same kind adopted by Council. If
conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one
receiving the greater number of affirmative votes shall prevail.
B.
Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question vote in favor of repeal of the ordinance cited in the referendum
petition, the ordinance shall be considered repealed upon certification
of the election results by the Election Bureau.
