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Chapter 7.130
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUMSections:
7.130.010 Purpose.
7.130.020 Application for petition.
7.130.030 Petition format.
7.130.040 Instructions to sponsors.
7.130.050 Submission and receipt of petitions.
7.130.060 Signature requirements.
7.130.070 Sufficiency of petition.
7.130.080 Supplemental petition.
7.130.090 Validation of signatures.
7.130.100 Residence address requirements.
7.130.110 Petition and signature rejection for other reasons.
7.130.120 New petition.
7.130.130 Termination of suspension of ordinance effective date.
7.130.140 Initiative election.
7.130.150 Referendum election.
7.130.160 Effect.
7.130.010 Purpose.
It is the purpose of this chapter to define and clarify the procedures to be followed in initiative and referendum proceedings. The initiative and referendum are forms of direct democracy and as such their availability to, and utilization by, the public must be facilitated while, at the same time, the integrity of the procedures must be maintained through mechanisms which discourage, reduce, and prevent both the occurrence and appearance of fraud. Further, in order to ensure clear, fixed and reliable standards, it is necessary that citizens and those officials charged with the validation of petitions be able to rely on designated official, published maps, plats and records of the city and on the published voter registration records of the state. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.020 Application for petition.
A. An initiative or referendum is proposed by filing an application with the city clerk containing the ordinance or resolution to be initiated or the ordinance or resolution to be referred and the name and address of the contact person and an alternate to whom all correspondence relating to the petition may be sent. The application shall be on a form provided by the clerk. An application shall be signed by at least ten (10) voters who will sponsor the petition. An additional sponsor may be added at any time before the petition is filed by submitting the name of the sponsor to the clerk. Within two (2) weeks the clerk shall certify the application if the clerk finds that it is in proper form and, for an initiative petition, that the matter:
1. Is not restricted by AS 29.26.100;
2. Includes only a single subject;
3. Relates to legislative rather than to an administrative matter; and
4. Would be enforceable as a matter of law.
B. A decision by the clerk on an application for petition is subject to judicial review. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.030 Petition format.
A. The petition prepared by the clerk for issuance to the petitioner sponsors shall be in substantial compliance with this section. The petition shall be prepared within two (2) weeks after certification of the application.
B. The front of the cover page of the petition shall provide a space for the name of the person who is circulating the petition and shall contain a statement in bold type identifying the petition as a referendum or initiative petition as appropriate, the initiative or referendum request, an impartial summary of the ordinance to be initiated or referred, a statement in bold type that a notice to petition signers is on the back of the cover sheet and that the ordinance to be initiated or referred is inside the first (1st) page of the petition, the date on which the petition is used by the clerk, a notice that all signatures must be secured within ninety (90) days after the date the petition is issued, and that petition signers’ signatures must be in ink, the residence address and printed name must be legible, that the signer must be a registered voter, and the acceptable and unacceptable forms of residence address which appear in BMC 7.130.100(B) and (C).
C. The second (2nd) and such subsequent pages as are necessary shall contain the full text of the ordinance to be initiated or referred.
D. Following the full text of the ordinance shall be not less than five (5) nor more than ten (10) signature pages. Each signature page shall be ruled in lines and shall contain six (6) columns which shall be titled as follows: Voter Registration No., Signature, Printed Name, Residence Address, Mailing Address and Zip Code, Date Signed. The clerk shall number each signature page serially in a sequence of numbers which shall be continuous through all booklets issued. Above the column titles shall be the petition request which shall make reference to the ordinance or measure to be initiated or referred and its location in the booklet. At the bottom of each signature page shall be a statement that to be valid, the signature must be in ink, the name as printed and signed must be the same form as the name appears on the state voter registration rolls and the printed name and residence address must be legible.
E. Following the last signature page shall be the sponsor’s sworn statement and date of signing, that the sponsor personally circulated the petition, that all signatures were affixed in the presence of the sponsor, and that the sponsor believes the signatures to be those of the persons whose names they purport to be. This page shall be the last page of the petition booklet.
F. Each booklet shall be assembled by the clerk and all pages within each booklet shall be stapled or otherwise fastened together.
G. The clerk shall notify the contact person in writing when the petition is available. The contact person is responsible for notifying sponsors. Copies of the petition shall be provided by the clerk to each sponsor who appears in the clerk’s office and requests a petition, and the clerk shall mail the petition to each sponsor who requests that the petition be mailed. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.040 Instructions to sponsors.
The clerk shall issue written instructions to the sponsors setting forth the requirement that to be valid the signature line must contain the signature in ink, the legible printed name, and the legible residence address of the municipal voter signing the petition. The instructions shall also include the types of addresses which are and are not acceptable as residence addresses. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.050 Submission and receipt of petitions.
A. The sponsors shall file the petitions as a single instrument. After the filing, no additional petition booklets may be received by the clerk for validation whether such additional booklets are submitted before or after the expiration of the petition period. Such late booklets shall be received only for the purpose of preservation for the record.
B. Filing shall be done during city business hours. If the last day of the period falls on a Saturday which is not a city holiday, the clerk shall make arrangements with the sponsors to receive the petitions at the clerk’s office at or before 4:30 p.m. on that Saturday. If the last day of the period falls on a Sunday or other city holiday, the sponsors may file the petition no later than 9:00 a.m. on the first (1st) weekday which is not a holiday.
C. Immediately upon receipt of the petition, and in the presence of the person submitting the petition, the clerk shall check each booklet and shall mark as rejected on its face, and the reason for rejection, any petition booklet which:
1. Shows evidence of having been disassembled and reassembled;
2. Does not contain all pages of the ordinance to be initiated or referred;
3. Does not contain the fully completed, signed and notarized affidavit of the sponsor. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.060 Signature requirements.
A. The signatures on an initiative or referendum petition shall be secured within ninety (90) days after the clerk issued the petition. The statement provided under BMC 7.130.030(E) shall be signed and dated by the sponsor. Signatures shall be in ink.
B. The clerk shall determine the number of signatures required and inform the contact person in writing. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, a petition shall be signed by fifteen (15) percent of votes cast at the last regular election held before the date written notice is given to the contact person that the petition is available.
C. A petition signer may withdraw the signer’s signature on written application to the clerk before certification of the petition.
D. If the ordinance or resolution that is the subject of an initiative or referendum petition affects only an area that is less than the entire area of a municipality, only voters residing in the affected area that is less than the entire area of the city, only voters residing in the affected area may sign the petition. The clerk shall determine the number of signatures required on the petition and inform the contact person in writing. The petition shall be signed by a number of voters based on the number of votes cast in that area at the last regular election held before the date written notice is given to the contact person that the petition is available equal to:
1. Twenty-five (25) percent of the votes cast if the area has fewer than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) persons; or
2. Fifteen (15) percent of the votes cast if the area has seven thousand five hundred (7,500) persons or more. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.070 Sufficiency of petition.
All copies of an initiative or referendum petition shall be assembled and filed as a single instrument. Within ten (10) days after the date the petition is filed, the clerk shall:
A. Certify on the petition whether it is sufficient; and
B. If the petition is insufficient, identify the insufficiency and notify the contact person by certified mail. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.080 Supplemental petition.
A. If the clerk determines that there is an insufficient number of valid signatures on the petitions filed during the ninety- (90-) day period, he shall send a notice of the insufficiency to the contact person by certified mail, return receipt requested. The sponsors shall have an additional ten (10) days from receipt of the notice to gather additional signatures on petitions supplied to the sponsors by the clerk for that purpose. The petitions supplied by the clerk for the supplemental period shall be in the format specified in BMC 7.130.030, except that the signature page numbering shall not duplicate that utilized for the ninety- (90-) day period.
B. Petitions shall be submitted and received in the manner provided in BMC 7.130.050.
C. No signatures obtained on booklets issued during the first (1st) ninety (90-) day period shall be valid if submitted with the supplemental petition. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.090 Validation of signatures.
A. The clerk shall reject the signature of any person whose name does not appear on the most recent printed voter registration list available from the state elections office and is determined by the state elections office to be a person who is not registered on the day the clerk requests state verification of the voter status of the person.
B. The clerk shall reject the signature of any person whose signed and printed name are so illegible that the clerk cannot identify the name; provided, however, the clerk may accept an otherwise illegible name if the voter has provided a registration number and the legible address information given by the person corresponds to voter registration information of the person registered to the voter registration number given.
C. The clerk shall reject all but one (1) signature of any person who has signed his or her name two (2) or more times to petition booklets.
D. The clerk shall reject the signature of any person whose signature is not executed in ink.
E. The clerk shall reject the signature of any person who fails to provide a legible and adequate residence address as provided in this section.
F. The clerk shall reject the signature of any person whose petition signature and printed name are not the form in which the person is registered to vote unless the clerk is able to determine from the voter registration number of the address information from the state elections officer that the signature is that of a registered voter. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.100 Residence address requirements.
A. A residence address for the purpose of initiative and referendum petition requirements is a locatable address where the person lives. A residence address is adequate only if it contains sufficient information to permit the person’s place of residence to be found by an ordinary person with no particular knowledge of the city area if such person is given the residence address information which appears on the petition, the official map of the city, the approved house number maps of the city, and relevant approved plan maps.
B. Notwithstanding the general definition provided in subsection A of this section, the following shall be deemed to be adequate residence addresses:
1. A subdivision name with a lot and block number;
2. A United States survey number when the smallest recorded subdivision which is applicable to the property is included;
3. A milepost when accompanied by a road or highway name;
4. A boat harbor or marina name when the stall, slip, or boat name is also included;
5. A hotel or motel if the room number is included;
6. A trailer court if the space number or street name and number within the trailer court is given;
7. A house number with a street or highway name;
8. An apartment or condominium name when accompanied by an apartment or unit number.
C. The following types of addresses are inadequate as a residence address:
1. A street name without a house number;
2. A milepost without a highway or road name;
3. A highway or road name without a milepost or house number;
4. Alaska, Bethel, City Sub, Tundra Ridge, BIA housing, or any other similar designation by a geographic area or subdivision only;
5. A rural route box number;
6. A post office box number;
7. A street, highway or road intersection;
8. Any address which is ambiguous either on its face or becomes ambiguous upon consulting a map or plat to which one (1) would be led from the residence address information;
9. An illegible address.
D. If there is a dispute as to the adequacy of a residence address given by a person whose name has been rejected by the clerk, the name shall be rejected if it is determined that a house number has been assigned to the place of residence of the person whose name has been rejected unless the assigned street name and house number or an accurate legal description of the property has been used on the petition. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.110 Petition and signature rejection for other reasons.
A. If any allegation of fraud or misconduct is filed with the clerk prior to the certification or notice of insufficiency of the petitions, he shall immediately investigate such allegations and reject the challenged petitions or signatures if such investigation reveals fraud or other irregularities which warrant rejection.
B. Any allegation of fraud or misconduct filed after certification of the petition which would or may result in the invalidation of a sufficient number of signatures to cause a petition to be insufficient shall be referred immediately to the city council. The council shall schedule a hearing on the matter and take such action as it deems appropriate with respect to signatures or petitions which are affected by any fraud or misconduct it finds.
C. It shall be fraud sufficient to reject an entire petition booklet if it is shown that a petition sponsor has either failed to do any act or had no reasonable basis for a belief to which he is required to swear under BMC 7.130.030(E). [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.120 New petition.
Failure to secure sufficient signatures does not preclude the filing of a new initiative or referendum petition. However, a new petition on substantially the same matter may not be filed sooner than six (6) months after a petition is rejected as insufficient. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.130 Termination of suspension of ordinance effective date.
An ordinance which has been suspended by the filing of a petition shall become effective five (5) working days after notice of insufficiency has been delivered to the prime sponsor unless an appeal of the clerk’s decision is filed within that time. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.140 Initiative election.
A. Unless substantially the same matter is adopted, when a petition seeks an initiative vote, the clerk shall submit the matter to the voters at the next regular election occurring no sooner than forty-five (45) days after certification of the petition. If no regular election occurs within seventy-five (75) days after the certification of a petition, the council shall hold a special election within seventy-five (75) days, but not sooner than forty-five (45) days after certification.
B. If the council adopts substantially the same measure, the petition is void and the matter initiated may not be placed before the voters.
C. The ordinance or resolution initiated shall be published in full in the notice of the election, but may be summarized on the ballot to indicate clearly the proposal submitted.
D. If a majority vote favors the ordinance or resolution, it becomes effective upon certification of the election, unless a different effective date is provided in the ordinance or resolution. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.150 Referendum election.
A. Unless the ordinance or resolution is repealed, when a petition seeks a referendum vote the clerk shall submit the matter to the voters at the next election occurring no sooner than seventy-five (75) days after certification of the petition. If no election occurs within seventy-five (75) days of certification of a petition, the council shall hold a special election within seventy-five (75) days, but not sooner than forty-five (45) days after certification.
B. If a petition is certified before the effective date of the matter referred, the ordinance or resolution against which the petition is filed shall be suspended pending the referendum vote. During the period of suspension, the council may not enact an ordinance or resolution substantially similar to the suspended measure.
C. If the council repeals the ordinance or resolution before the referendum election, the petition is void and the matter referred shall not be placed before the voters.
D. If a majority vote favors the repeal of the matter referred, it is repealed. Otherwise, the matter referred remains in effect or, if it has been suspended, becomes effective on certification of the election. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
7.130.160 Effect.
A. The effect of an ordinance or resolution may not be modified or negated within two (2) years after its effective date if adopted in an initiative election or if adopted after a petition that contains substantially the same measure has been filed.
B. If an ordinance or resolution is repealed in a referendum election or by the council after a petition that contains substantially the same measure has been filed, substantially similar legislation may not be enacted by the council for a period of two (2) years.
C. If an initiative or referendum measure fails to receive voter approval, a new petition application for substantially the same measure may not be filed sooner than six (6) months after the election results are certified. [Ord. 98-16 § 4.]
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