Item C: City of Eugene Elections Code Revision

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Petitions to Be Submitted During Business Hours EC 2.970 was amended to clarify that both prospective petitions and completed petitions ready for signature verification must be submitted in person to the City Recorder at the City Recorder’s Office during business hours. This section was added to eliminate confusion about filing petitions with the City Recorder following evening council meetings. Referred Ordinance Not to Take Effect During Signature Gathering/Verification To refer an ordinance to the voters, petitioners must obtain the number of signatures required by EC 2.972 before the effective date specified in the ordinance. If the petitioners obtain the required number of signatures, the ordinance does not take effect unless and until the voters approve it at an election. That much is settled law, but there has been some question about the status of a referred ordinance during the fifteen days that Lane County Elections spends verifying the signatures on a referendum petition. An Attorney General’s opinion suggests that referred legislation does not take effect during the period of signature verification, and that conclusion avoids the possibility that the ordinance would be in effect for only fifteen days. The proposed amendments to EC 2.971 would confirm that an ordinance subject to a referendum petition does not take effect until it has been determined that the petitioners did not collect enough valid signatures, or the voters approve the ordinance at an election. Submission of Petitions and Signature Gathering EC 2.973 through 2.975 outline the process and requirements for submission of prospective petitions for initiative and referendum measures as well as the process and requirements for signature collection. The current code is difficult to follow and provisions regulating prospective petitions and signature gathering are scattered throughout various code sections. Because the code sections governing prospective petitions and signature collection are of primary importance to citizens who want to utilize the initiative or referendum process, the proposed amendments to EC 2.973 through 2.975 reorder those sections to lay out a step-by-step, chronological process for submitting prospective petitions and signature gathering. Ballot Title Challenge Process The proposed amendments to the City’s ballot title appeal process present one of the policy issues for the council to consider. EC 2.977 governs the City’s ballot title challenge process. State law clearly allows the City to adopt its own ballot title appeal process for initiatives and elector-initiated referenda, but it is unclear as to the ballot title appeal process for council- referred measures. The Secretary of State has directed county elections officials not to accept council-referred measures unless they comply with the ballot title appeal process contained in state statutes, which differs significantly from the ballot title appeal process currently in the Code. In particular, the state ballot title appeal process includes a publication requirement and provides that ballot title appeals must be decided by the Lane County Circuit Court rather than council-referred measures the City Council. The Secretary of State’s directive only applies to ; initiative and referendum measures county elections officials will accept that comply with the ballot title appeal process in the Eugene Code. Therefore, the council could choose to have two different ballot title appeal processes -- the City Code process for initiative and referendum measures and the state law process for council-referred measures. However, in the interests of uniformity and transparency for citizens, staff recommends that the council adopt the state ballot title appeal process for initiative, referendum and council-referred measures. Council to Refrain from Acting During 61-Day Period Before Election This proposed revision presents another policy choice for the council. EC 2.980 currently provides that the council must take action to adopt an ordinance proposed by initiative petition or F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080211\S080211C.DOC