Contact Person / Organization

Status

Short Ballot Title

Long Ballot Title

Attorney General Certificate of Review

Full Text

Section 1. That Section 34-1801A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

34-1801[A]. Petition. The following shall be substantially the form of petition for any law proposed by the initiative:

WARNING

It is a felony for anyone to sign any initiative or referendum petition with any name other than his own, or to knowingly sign his name more than once for the measure, or to sign such petition when he is not a qualified elector.

INITIATIVE PETITION

To the Honorable . . . . . , Secretary of State of the State of Idaho:

"We, the undersigned citizens and qualified electors of the State of Idaho, respectfully demand that the following proposed law, to-wit: (setting out full text of measure proposed) shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the State of Idaho, for their approval or rejection at the regular general election, to be held on the . . . . . . day of . . . . . , A.D., . . . . . , and each for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a qualified elector of the State of Idaho; my residence and post office are correctly written after my name.

Signature                Printed Name               Residence                      City or
                                                            Street and Number            Post Office

(Here follow twenty numbered lines for signatures.)

The petition for referendum on any act passed by the state legislature of the state of Idaho shall be in substantially the same form with appropriate title and changes, setting out in full the text of the act of the legislature to be referred to the people for their approval or rejection.

Section 2. That Section 34-1801, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby repealed.

Section 3. That Section 34-1802, Idaho Code, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

34-1802. Initiative petitions[ - Time for gathering signatures - Time for submission of signatures to the county clerk] - Time for filing. [(1) Except as provided in section 34-1804, Idaho Code, petitions for an initiative shall be circulated and signatures obtained beginning upon the date that the petitioners receive the official ballot title from the secretary of state and extending eighteen (18) months from that date or April 30 of the year that an election on the initiative will be held, whichever occurs earlier. The last day for circulating petitions and obtaining signatures shall be the last day of April in the year an election on the initiative will be held.

(2) The person or persons or organization or organizations under whose authority the measure is to be initiated shall submit the petitions containing signatures to the county clerk for verification pursuant to the provisions of section 34-1807, Idaho Code. The signatures required shall be submitted to the county clerk not later than the close of business on the first day of May in the year an election on the initiative will be held, or eighteen (18) months from the date the petitioner receives the official ballot title from the secretary of state, whichever is earlier.

(3) The county clerk shall, within sixty (60) calendar days of the deadline for the submission of the signatures, verify the signatures contained in the petitions, but in no event shall the time extend beyond the last day of June in the year an election on the initiative will be held.

(4) ]Initiative petitions with the requisite number of signatures attached shall be filed with the secretary of state not less than four (4) months before the election at which they are to be voted upon.

Section 4. That Chapter 18, Title 34, Section 34-1803B, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby repealed.

Section 5. That Section 34-1805, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

34-1805. Sponsors to print petition - Number of signers required. After the form of the initiative or referendum petition has been approved by the secretary of state as in sections 34-1801[A]- through 34-1822, Idaho Code, provided, the same shall be printed by the person or persons or organization or organizations under whose authority the measure is to be referred or initiated and circulated in the several counties of the state for the signatures of legal voters. Before such petitions shall be entitled to final filing and consideration by the secretary of state there shall be affixed thereto the signatures of legal voters equal in number to not less than six per cent (6%) of the qualified electors of the state at the time of the last general election. [Provided, that the petition must contain a number of signatures of qualified electors from each of twenty-two (22) counties equal to not less than six percent (6%) of the qualified electors at the time of the last general election in each of those twenty-two (22) counties.]

Section 6. That Section 34-1809, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

34-1809. Review of initiative and referendum measures by attorney general - Certificate of review prerequisite to assignment of ballot title - Ballot title [- Judicial review]. After receiving a copy of the petition from the secretary of state as provided in section 34-1804, Idaho Code, the attorney general may confer with the petitioner and shall, within twenty (20) working days from receipt thereof, review the proposal for matters of substantive import and shall recommend to the petitioner such revision or alteration of the measure as may be deemed necessary and appropriate. The recommendations of the attorney general shall be advisory only and the petitioner may accept or reject them in whole or in part. The attorney general shall issue a certificate of review to the secretary of state certifying that he has reviewed the measure for form and style and that the recommendations thereon, if any, have been communicated to the petitioner, and such certificate shall be issued whether or not the petitioner accepts such recommendations. The certificate of review shall be available for public inspection in the office of the secretary of state. Within fifteen (15) working days after the issuance of the certificate of review, the petitioner, if he desires to proceed with his sponsorship, shall file the measure, as herein provided, with the secretary of state for assignment of a ballot title and the secretary of state shall thereupon submit to the attorney general two (2) copies of the measure filed. Within ten (10) working days after receiving said copies the attorney general shall provide a ballot title therefor and return one of said copies to the secretary of state, together with the ballot title so prepared by him. A copy of the ballot title as prepared by the attorney general shall be furnished by the secretary of state with his approved form of any initiative or referendum petition, as provided herein, to the person or persons or organization or organizations under whose authority the measure is initiated or referred. Said ballot title shall be used and printed on the covers of the petition when in circulation; the short title shall be printed in type not less than twenty (20) points on the covers of all such petitions circulated for signatures. The ballot title shall contain: (1) Distinctive short title in not exceeding twenty (20) words by which the measure is commonly referred to or spoken of and which shall be printed in the foot margin of each signature sheet of the petition. (2) A general title expressing in not more than two hundred (200) words the purpose of the measure. The ballot title shall be printed with the numbers of the measure on the official ballot. In making such ballot title the attorney general shall to the best of his ability give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure and in such language that the ballot title shall not be intentionally an argument or likely to create prejudice either for or against the measure. Any person who is dissatisfied with the ballot title or the short title provided by the attorney general for any measure, may appeal from his decision to the Supreme Court by petition, praying for a different title and setting forth the reason why the title prepared by the attorney general is insufficient or unfair. No appeal shall be allowed from the decision of the attorney general on a ballot title unless the same is taken within twenty (20) days after said ballot title is filed in the office of the secretary of state[; provided however, that this section shall not prevent any later judicial proceeding to determine the sufficiency of such title, nor shall it prevent any judicial decision upon the sufficiency of such title]. A copy of every such ballot title shall be served by the secretary of state upon the person offering or filing such initiative or referendum petition, or appeal. The service of such decision may be by mail or telegraph and shall be made forthwith when it is received from the attorney general by the secretary of state. Said Supreme Court shall thereupon examine said measure, hear argument, and in its decision thereon certify to the secretary of state a ballot title and a short title for the measure in accord with the intent of this section. The secretary of state shall print on the official ballot the title thus certified to him. [ Any qualified elector of the state of Idaho may, at any time after the attorney general has issued a certificate of review, bring an action in the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of any initiative.]

Section 7. That chapter 18, Title 34, Section 34-1814A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby repealed.

Section 8. That Section 34-1815, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

34-1815. False statements [spoken or written] concerning petition unlawful [- Failure to disclose material provisions]. It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or knowingly circulate, publish or exhibit any false statement or representation, whether spoken or written, or to fail to disclose any material provision in a petition, concerning the contents, purport or effect of any petition mentioned in sections 34-1801A- through 34-1822, Idaho Code, for the purpose of obtaining any signature to any such petition, or for the purpose of persuading any person to sign any such petition. [It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or obtain any signature on a petition without first showing the signer both the short title and the general title as defined in section 34-1809, Idaho Code, so that the signer has an opportunity to read them before signing the petition.

Any signature obtained without compliance with this section is null and void.]

Section 9. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after [July 1, 1997] January 1, 1999, and this act shall apply to all initiative petitions that have been submitted with qualifying signatures pursuant to section 34-1804, Idaho Code, on and after [July 1, 1997] January 1, 1999.

Section 10. If any section, part or phrase hereof is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining sections will remain in full force and effect.