The voters of the City may propose any ordinance
and may adopt or reject the same at the polls, such power being known
as the initiative. Any initiated ordinance may be submitted to the
City Council by a written petition delivered to the City Clerk and
signed by qualified voters equal in number to at least 15% of the
persons registered to vote at the last preceding general election.
The voters shall also have the power of referendum,
which is the power to approve or reject at the polls any ordinance
submitted by the Council to the voters or any ordinance passed by
the Council against which a referendum petition has been filed as
herein provided. No ordinance passed by the City Council other than
the local budget ordinance, except when otherwise required by general
law or passed following the adoption of a resolution on the affirmative
vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the number of members of the City Council
then in office and not disqualified by law from voting thereon, shall
take effect before 20 days from the time of its final passage and
its approval by the Mayor. If within 20 days after such final passage
and approval of such ordinance a written petition signed by qualified
voters equal in number to at least 15% of the persons registered to
vote at the last preceding general election, protesting against the
passage of such ordinance, shall be filed with the City Clerk, the
ordinance shall be suspended from taking effect until proceedings
are had as herein provided.
All petition papers circulated for the purposes
of an initiative or referendum shall be uniform in size and style.
Initiative petition papers shall contain the full text of the proposed
ordinance. The signatures to initiative or referendum petitions need
not all be appended to one paper, but to each separate petition there
shall be attached a statement of the circulator thereof as provided
by this section. Each signer of any such petition paper shall sign
his name in ink or indelible pencil and shall indicate after his name
his place of residence by street and number or other description sufficient
to identify the place. There shall appear on each petition paper the
names and addresses of five voters, designated as the "Committee of
the Petitioners," who shall be regarded as responsible for the circulation
and filing of the petition and for its possible withdrawal as hereinafter
provided. Attached to each separate petition paper there shall be
an affidavit of the circulator thereof that he, and he only, personally
circulated the foregoing paper, that all the signatures appended thereto
were made in his presence, and that he believes them to be the genuine
signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.
All petition papers comprising an initiative
or referendum petition shall be assembled and filed with the City
Clerk as one instrument. Within 20 days after a petition is filed,
the City Clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petitioner
has a proper statement of the circulator and whether the petition
is signed by a sufficient number of qualified voters. After completing
his examination of the petition, the City Clerk shall certify the
result thereof to the Council at its next regular meeting. If he shall
certify that the petition is insufficient, he shall set forth in his
certificate the particulars in which it is defective and shall at
once notify at least two members of the Committee of the Petitioners
of his findings.
An initiative or referendum petition may be
amended at any time within 10 days after the notification of insufficiency
has been served by the City Clerk by filing a supplementary petition
upon additional papers signed and filed as provided in case of an
original petition. The City Clerk shall, within five days after such
an amendment is filed, examine the amended petition and, if the petition
be still insufficient, he shall file his certificate to that effect
in his office and notify the Committee of the Petitioners of his findings,
and no further action shall be had on such insufficient petition.
The finding of the insufficiency of a petition shall not prejudice
the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
Upon the filing of a referendum petition with
the City Clerk, the ordinance shall be suspended until 10 days following
a finding by the City Clerk that the petition is insufficient or,
if an amended petition be filed, until five days thereafter, or, if
the petition or amended petition be found to be sufficient, until
it is withdrawn by the Committee of the Petitioners or until repeal
of the ordinance by vote of the Council or approval or disapproval
of the ordinance by the voters.
Upon a finding by the City Clerk that any petition
or amended petition filed with him in accordance with this Act is
sufficient, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the City Council
without delay. An initiative ordinance so submitted shall be deemed
to have had first reading, and provision shall be made for a public
hearing.
If within 60 days of the submission of a certified
petition by the City Clerk the City Council shall fail to pass an
ordinance requested by an initiative petition in substantially the
form requested or to repeal an ordinance as requested by a referendum
petition, the City Clerk shall submit the ordinance to the voters
unless, within 10 days after final adverse action by the City Council
or after the expiration of the time allowed for such action, as the
case may be, a paper signed by at least four of the five members of
the Committee of the Petitioners shall be filed with the City Clerk
requesting that the petition be withdrawn. Upon the filing of such
a request, the original petition shall cease to have any force or
effect.
Any ordinance to be voted on by the voters in
accordance with this article shall be submitted at the next general
election occurring not less than 60 days after the date of final action
by the City Council or the expiration of the time allowed for action
by the City Council in this article, as the case may be, provided
that if no such election is to be held within 90 days the City Council
may in its discretion provide for a special election.
Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted
upon at the same election in accordance with the provisions of this
article, but there shall not be more than one special election in
any period of six months for such purpose.
Whenever an ordinance is to be submitted to
the voters of the City at any election in accordance with this article,
the City Clerk shall cause the ordinance to be publicized and advertised
as hereinafter provided in this Act.
The ballots to be used at such election shall
be in substantially the following form:
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"To vote upon the public question printed below,
if in favor thereof mark a cross (X) or plus (+) or check (
 ) in the square at the
left of the word 'Yes,' and if opposed thereto mark a cross (X) or
plus (+) or a check () in the square to the
left of the word 'No.'" | |
|---|---|
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□ Yes
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"Shall the ordinance (indicate whether submitted
by the City Council or initiative or referendum petition) providing
for (here state nature of proposed ordinance or proposition) be adopted?"
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□ No
| |
If a majority of the qualified electors voting
on the proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, such ordinance
shall thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of the City and
be published as in the case of other ordinances. If the provisions
of two or more measures approved or adopted at the same election conflict,
then the measure receiving the greatest affirmative vote shall control.
