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Primary Election--March 2, 2004

STEPS IN THE INITIATIVE PROCESS

• Proponents write the text of the proposed law.
• The draft is submitted to the Attorney General, along with $200. The money is refunded if the measure qualifies for the ballot; otherwise it is placed in the state's general fund.
• The Attorney General prepares a title and official summary.
• The Attorney General sends the summary to proponents, the Senate, the Assembly and the Secretary of State. The legislature may conduct public hearings on it, but cannot amend it.
• Calendar deadlines are calculated from the date the summary is sent to the proponents (the official summary date).
• Petitions must have the official summary on each signature page.
• Circulation of petitions can only begin on the official summary date. Completed, signed petitions must be filed no later than 150 days from the official summary date. Each initiative will be placed on the next statewide general or special election ballot that occurs 131 days after the petition qualifies.
• Number of signatures required:
• Initiative statute: 5 percent of the votes cast for all candidates who ran for governor in the last election. (There are no initiative statutes on the March 2004 ballot.)
• Initiative constitutional amendment: 8 percent of the voters cast for all candidates who ran for governor in the last election. The number required for Prop. 56 to qualify for the ballot was 598,105.
• Signers may withdraw their names by filing a written request.
• Petitions must be filed in the county in which they were circulated.
• If the state total based on random sampling is more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures, the Secretary of State certifies the initiative as qualified for the ballot. If the random sampling total is between 95 and 110 percent of the required number, a full count of all the signatures is ordered.
• When the initiative measure qualifies, it is sent to the legislature. It is assigned to the appropriate committees, which then hold joint public hearings on the subject at least 30 days before the election. The legislature has no authority to alter the measure or prevent it from going on the ballot.
• Under the Political Reform Act of 1974, committees supporting or opposing an initiative must file campaign disclosure statements if they have made or received contributions or made expenditures.
• Proponents and opponents may submit arguments for inclusion in the ballot pamphlet.
• An initiative measure approved by majority vote takes effect the day after the election unless it specifies otherwise. If provisions of two or more measures approved at the same election conflict, those of the measure receiving the highest affirmative vote prevail. The legislature may amend or repeal initiative statutes by another statute that becomes effective only when approved by voters, unless the initiative statute permits amendment or repeal without their approval.

The Referendum Process

Pursuant to article II, section 9, of the California Constitution, a referendum is the power of the electors to approve or reject any statute enacted by the Legislature. A referendum cannot be used on urgency statutes, statutes calling elections, or statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for current expenses of the state.

Referenda on the ballot are fairly rare in comparison to initiative measures, although three referenda qualified for the March 2000 primary election ballot. Two out of the three were successful. Prior to that, the last four referenda placed before the voters appeared on the June 1982 primary election ballot. All four were defeated. Since 1912, there have been approximately 50 attempts to qualify referenda for the ballot. Of the 50 attempts, 39 qualified for the ballot, 25 of which were approved by voters.

The circulation calendar, verification, timing, and form of the petition have different requirements than initiatives. For example, the California Constitution requires that the process must be completed within ninety days of the enactment of the bill that is being referred. The signature requirements are the same for a referendum as an initiative statute.

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