HB2540 - 521R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 19-111, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-111. Number for petition; training materials

A. A person or organization intending to propose a law or constitutional amendment by initiative petition or to file a referendum petition against a measure, item, section or part of a measure, before causing the petition to be printed and circulated, shall file with the secretary of state an application, on a form to be provided by the secretary of state, setting forth the person's name or, if an organization, its name and the names and titles of its officers, the person's or organization's address, the person's or organization's intention to circulate and file a petition, a description of no more than one hundred words of the principal provisions of the proposed law, constitutional amendment or measure and the text of the proposed law, constitutional amendment or measure to be initiated or referred in no less than eight point type, and applying for issuance of an official serial number. At the same time as the person or organization files its application, the person or organization shall file with the secretary of state its statement of organization or its signed exemption statement as prescribed by section 16‑902.01. The secretary of state shall not accept an application for initiative or referendum without an accompanying statement of organization or signed exemption statement as prescribed by this subsection.

B. On receipt of the application, the secretary of state shall assign an official serial number to the petition, which number shall appear in the lower right‑hand corner of each side of each copy thereof, and issue that number to the applicant. The secretary of state shall assign numbers to petitions in numerical sequence, and a record shall be maintained in the secretary of state's office of each application received and of the numbers assigned and issued to the applicant. for statewide measures only, The secretary of state shall provide a fillable form for the petition and a separate fillable form for the signature sheets for the petition and shall place the official serial number on the petition and on each signature sheet. The secretary of state shall ensure that the petition form and signature sheet form issued to each applicant are complete and correct and contain all of the information required by law for a valid petition and signatures except for the information regarding the signers and circulators, the actual signatures, the notarized signatures of the circulators and the information regarding and signature of the notary public.

C. The secretary of state shall make available to each applicant by electronic means a copy of the text of this article governing the initiative and referendum and all rules adopted by the secretary of state pursuant to this title. In addition, the secretary of state shall provide the applicant by electronic means the ability to file a statement of organization or five hundred dollar threshold exemption statement and a notice stating: "This statement must be filed before valid signatures can be collected." The secretary of state shall make available by electronic means a copy of the text of this article governing the initiative and referendum and all rules adopted by the secretary of state pursuant to this title to the county, city and town clerks who shall similarly furnish a copy to each applicant by electronic means. If a member of the public so requests, the secretary of state and the county, city and town clerks shall provide a copy in pamphlet form.

D. The secretary of state shall make available to each person or organization circulating a statewide initiative, referendum or recall petition a copy of circulator training materials created by the secretary of state. Circulator training materials may be provided on paper or in electronic format and shall also be available on the secretary of state's website. A person or organization circulating a statewide petition shall provide each circulator with the secretary of state's circulator training materials and shall collect and submit to the secretary of state each of its circulators' training materials receipts before the filing of completed petitions. Each person who is a statewide circulator shall acknowledge in writing receipt of the training materials before circulating a petition for signatures. Failure to provide circulator training materials or failure to submit circulators' training materials receipts is not grounds for removal of signatures or signature sheets. Notwithstanding section 19‑141, this subsection does not apply to initiative, referendum or recall petitions for cities, towns and counties.

E. The eight‑point type required by subsection A of this section shall not apply to maps, charts or other graphics. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 19-121, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-121. Signature sheets; petitions; form; procedure for filing

A. Signature sheets filed shall:

1. Be in the form prescribed by law.

2. Have printed in its their lower right‑hand corner, on each side of such sheet sheets, the official serial number assigned to the petition by the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall place the official serial number on the fillable Forms for Signature sheets that are issued by the secretary of state.

3. Be attached to a full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure, or amendment to the constitution, proposed or referred by the petition.

4. Be printed in at least eight‑point type.

5. Be printed in black ink on white or recycled white pages fourteen inches in width by eight and one‑half inches in length, with a margin of at least one‑half inch at the top and one‑fourth inch at the bottom of each page.

B. For the purposes of this chapter, a petition is filed when the petition sheets are tendered to the secretary of state, at which time who shall issue a receipt is immediately issued by the secretary of state based on an estimate made to the secretary of state of the purported number of sheets and signatures filed. After the issuance of the receipt, no additional petition sheets may be accepted for filing.

C. Petitions may be filed with the secretary of state in numbered sections for convenience in handling. Not more than fifteen signatures on one sheet shall be counted.

D. Initiative petitions which that have not been filed with the secretary of state as of 5:00 p.m. on the day required by the constitution prior to before the ensuing general election after their issuance shall be null and void, but in no event shall the secretary of state accept an initiative petition which that was issued for circulation more than twenty‑four months prior to before the general election at which the measure is to be included on the ballot.

E. For the purposes of this article and article 4 of this chapter, the measure to be attached to the petition as enacted by the legislative body of an incorporated city, town or county means the adopted ordinance or resolution or, in the absence of a written ordinance or resolution, that portion of the minutes of the legislative body that reflects reflect the action taken by that body when adopting the measure. In the case of zoning measures, the measure shall also include a legal description of the property and any amendments made to the ordinance by the legislative body. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 19-141, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-141. Initiative and referendum in counties, cities and towns

A. The provisions of This chapter shall apply applies to the legislation of cities, towns and counties, except as specifically provided to the contrary in this article. The duties required of the secretary of state as to state legislation shall be performed in connection with such legislation by the city or town clerk, county officer in charge of elections or person performing the duties as such. The duties required of the governor shall be performed by the mayor or the chairman of the board of supervisors, the duties required of the attorney general shall be performed by the city, town or county attorney, and the printing and binding of measures and arguments shall be paid for by the city, town or county in like manner as payment is provided for by the state with respect to state legislation. The provisions of section 19‑124 with respect to the legislative council analysis do not apply in connection with initiatives and referenda in cities, towns and counties. The printing shall be done in the same manner as other municipal or county printing is done.

b. NOTWITHSTANDING SECTION 19-111, subsection B, CITY AND TOWN CLERKS AND COUNTY OFFICERS IN CHARGE OF ELECTIONS FOR CITY, TOWN OR COUNTY MATTERS, RESPECTIVELY, SHALL PROVIDE A BLANK PETITION SIGNATURE SHEET AT THE TIME OF FILING THE MEASURE THAT INCLUDES THE OFFICIAL SERIAL NUMBER OF THE MEASURE ON THE FRONT AND BACK OF THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF THE FORM.

B. C. Distribution of pamphlets shall be made to every household containing a registered voter in the city, town or county, so far as possible, by the city or town clerk or by the county officer in charge of elections by mail before the earliest date for receipt by registered voters of any requested early ballot for the election at which the measures are to be voted on. If the pamphlet is not mailed before the earliest date for receipt of a requested early ballot, the officer in charge of elections shall provide a notice with the early ballots stating when the pamphlets will be mailed and where and when the pamphlets may be accessed or viewed. Pamphlets shall not be mailed or carried less than ten days before the election at which the measures are to be voted upon.

C. D. Arguments supporting or opposing municipal or county initiative and referendum measures shall be filed with the city or town clerk or the county officer in charge of elections not less than ninety days before the election at which they are to be voted upon.

D. E. The procedure with respect to municipal and county legislation shall be as nearly as practicable the same as the procedure relating to initiative and referendum provided for the state at large, except the procedure for verifying signatures on initiative or referendum petitions may be established by a city or town by charter or ordinance.

E. F. References in this section to duties to be performed by city or town officers apply only with respect to municipal legislation, and references to duties to be performed by county officers apply only with respect to county legislation.

F. G. The duties required of the county recorder with respect to state legislation shall also be performed by the county recorder with respect to municipal or county legislation. END_STATUTE