HomeMy WebLinkAboutInitiative Process
City Recorders Office
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5042
(541) 682-5414 FAX
eugene.city.recorder@ci.eugene.or.us
www.eugene-or.gov
City of Eugene Initiative Process
Initiative Petition
This is a summary of the process for filing an with the City of Eugene. For additional
information, please contact Mary Feldman, City Recorder.
What is an initiative?
The initiative is part of Oregon’s system of direct legislation by the voters. In Eugene, an initiative petition
may propose one of three different types of legislation:
a revision of or amendment of the Eugene Charter;
an ordinance enacting a law of a permanent or general character which creates policy, as opposed to
executing policy already in existence; or
a “protected” ordinance (in accordance with Eugene Charter of 2002, section 32-A)
Protected ordinances may be amended or repealed only by the electors or by unanimous vote of
councilors present and voting at a council meeting. The prospective petition for a protected ordinance
must include a statement declaring that the ordinance is proposed as a protected ordinance. The
petition for a protected ordinance and any qualified ballot measure for a protected ordinance shall
state that it is proposed as a protected ordinance and must explain the limitations on its repeal or
amendment.
Who may file an initiative petition?
Any elector may initiate legislation by filing with the Eugene City Recorder a prospective initiative petition
proposing new legislation and requesting that it be submitted to the electors of the city. The individual
responsible for preparation and organization of an initiative petition is the “chief petitioner.” Up to three
persons may be designated as chief petitioners for any one initiative petition.
The steps for filing an initiative petition are summarized below.
CHIEF PETITIONERS SUBMIT PROSPECTIVE INITIATIVE PETITION
Prior to circulation of an initiative petition, the chief petitioner(s) must submit the prospective initiative
petition to the City Recorder's Office. The City Recorder shall review the prospective initiative petition for
sufficiency as to form, and advise the petitioners of the election filing deadline (Eugene Code Section
2.973). The prospective initiative petition must include the following:
1. A copy of the proposed legislation
. If this proposed legislation is passed by the voters, the exact
wording as presented at this time will become the adopted law. It is strongly recommended that petitioners
seek the advice of an attorney prior to submitting the proposed legislation to ensure that what is proposed
is legislative in nature and does not conflict with existing State and Federal laws.
2. State Form SEL 370 Prospective Petition for Local Measure.
This form requests that the City
Attorney prepare a ballot title. The form must include a statement designating the names and addresses of
not more than three persons or entities as chief petitioners. If the chief petitioner is an organization, its
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name and address, and the addresses of each of the principal officers of the organization, must be
provided (Eugene Code Section 2.974).
3. State Form SEL 301Statement One or More Petition Circulators Will/Will Not Be Paid.
(Eugene
Code Section 2.973) The chief petitioners shall include with the prospective petition a statement declaring
whether one or more persons will be paid money or other valuable consideration for obtaining signatures
of electors on the initiative petition.
BALLOT TITLE
On the next business day, the City Recorder will provide a copy of the prospective petition to the City
Attorney. Within 5 business days, the City Attorney will review the text of the proposed legislation for legal
sufficiency and, if appropriate, issue a ballot title (caption, question, and summary of the proposed
measure). Unless a successful appeal is filed, this text will appear on the ballot at the election for the
may not
initiative petition (Eugene Code Section 2.977). Petitioners obtain any petition signatures until the
ballot title is final and they have obtained written approval to circulate petitions from the City Recorder.
APPEAL OF BALLOT TITLE
Upon receipt of the ballot title, the City Recorder publishes a notice that it has been received in the next
available edition of the Register-Guard. Any elector dissatisfied with the ballot title may, within 7 business
days after it is delivered to the City Recorder’s Office, petition the Lane County Circuit Court requesting a
different ballot title and stating why the ballot title prepared by the City Attorney is unsatisfactory. The court
will make the final determination of the ballot title, question, and summary that shall appear before the
voters at the election.
REVIEW OF COVER AND SIGNATURE SHEETS
The City Recorder will notify the chief petitioners when the final ballot title has been determined, and only
then may chief petitioners begin the cover and signature sheet approval process by submitting a draft of
the cover and signature sheets to the City Recorder for review and approval. No signatures may be
gathered until the approval process has been completed. Cover and signature sheets must include the
following:
1. Cover Sheet
, which must contain the following and be on the reverse side of each signature sheet
(EC 2.975):
a. Instructions to circulators and signers.
b. Ballot title, question and explanation as it will appear at the election.
c. Names and residence addresses of Chief Petitioners.
d. An attached copy of the complete and correct text of the proposed legislation.
2. SEL 371 or 373 Signature Sheet
, which must contain the following:
a. The 10 word (or less) Ballot Caption.
b. A clear statement as to whether petition circulators are being paid. State Form SEL 373 is to be
used if some circulators are being paid. State Form SEL 371 may be used if no circulators are
being paid.
CIRCULATORS COLLECT SIGNATURES
Number of signatures required to place an initiative petition on the ballot:
An initiative petition requires 15 percent of the number of votes cast for mayor at the most recent mayoral
election preceding the date when circulation of the petition begins. Based on the November 4, 2008,
12,062,
election, the number of signatures required is who must be registered voters in Eugene.
Many signatures are rejected during the verification process because they are illegible, duplications, or the
electors do not reside within the boundaries of the City of Eugene. Therefore, petitioners are advised to
collect at least 10 percent more signatures than are required (an additional 1,206 or total of 13,268) in
order to increase the likelihood of having enough valid signatures to meet the requirement.
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Time limit for collection of signatures:
As specified in Eugene Code Section 2.974(c), the first signature on the petition must be collected no later
than 90 days after the issuance of the final ballot title.
If the petitioners fail to begin collecting signatures within the 90 days, the petition is void. The petitioners
may file again at any time.
Time limit for filing petition:
The petition must be submitted to the City Recorder’s Office no later than 100 days after the date the first
signature on the petition is collected (Eugene Code Section 2.974(d)).
CHIEF PETITIONERS SUBMIT PETITION SIGNATURE SHEETS FOR VERIFICATION
When the chief petitioners submit the completed initiative petition to the City Recorder’s Office, the City
Recorder counts and examines each sheet to determine whether the circulator’s certification is sufficient.
Please note that each sheet must include a signed statement by the circulator that he/she personally
witnessed each individual’s signing.
After completing this process, the City Recorder forwards the petition signature sheets to Lane County
Elections. The elections division, acting on behalf of the City, shall verify the legality of the signatures
within 15 calendar days of the filing date (Eugene Code Section 2.979(1)).
As specified in Eugene Code Section 2.979(2), if the required number of signatures exceeds 4,500, the
statistical sampling technique is used to verify whether a petition contains the required number of
signatures.
PETITIONERS FILE STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION & FINANCIAL REPORTS
Oregon law requires that chief petitioners register with the Oregon Secretary of State and file reports of all
financial transactions. To register, the treasurer or Chief Petitioner must file a Statement of Organization
for a Chief Petitioner Committee using the Oregon Secretary of State’s electronic filing system, ORESTAR,
or completing the paper form (SEL 222), and filing it with the Elections Division either by mail, fax, or hand-
delivery. The form may be downloaded from the Election Division’s website at www.oregonvotes.org. The
City Recorder assigns the petition itself an identification number to use for this filing. The Elections Division
assigns another identification number to the Chief Petitioner Committee.
Registration must occur within 3 business day of first receiving a contribution or making an expenditure,
but no later than the date the petition is approved for circulation. The City Recorder cannot approve cover
and signature sheets for circulation until a Statement of Organization has been filed.
If the petition qualifies to the ballot and will subsequently be voted on at an election, any group, including
the chief petitioner committee, that intends to support or oppose the measure, must register as a political
committee with the Oregon Elections Division. Please note that a group formed to support or oppose a
petition that is not yet a measure on a ballot is not a political committee.
On request, the City Recorder’s Office will provide the 2008 State of Oregon Campaign Finance Manual.
Information is available on the Oregon Elections Division Website at
http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/publications/cf_manual.html
ELECTION
Placement on an election:
As specified in Eugene Code Section 2.981, an initiative that is certified to have sufficient signatures will be
voted on at the first primary or general election to be held not sooner than 90 days after the certification,
with the following exceptions.
(1) If the initiative is an ordinance and not a charter amendment, the council may choose to
adopt it without forwarding it to an election.
(2) The council may choose to place the initiative on an earlier election. The special election
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may not be held earlier than 66 days after certification of the petition.
Timing of effect:
Unless specified otherwise in the proposed legislation, an initiative approved by the voters shall take effect
immediately upon the mayor’s proclamation that the measure has passed (Eugene Code Section 2.986).
Eugene Code Sections pertaining to the initiative process and copies of all forms referred to in these
instructions are included with this packet:
Eugene Code Chapter 2 Sections 2.960-2.1005
SEL 370 Prospective Petition for Local Initiative/Referendum Measure
SEL 301 Statement One or More Petition Circulators Will/Will Not be Paid
Petition Cover Sheet – SAMPLE only
SEL 371 Petition Signature Sheet for Local Measure - No Circulators Being Paid
SEL 373 Petition Signature Sheet for Local Measure - Some Circulators Being Paid
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