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SB 202 Referendum Enters Circulation

Referendum to Overturn Changes to Ballot Measure Elections

SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced today that the proponent of a proposed referendum measure may begin collecting petition signatures.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on referendum petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials, and the referendum may be circulated for signatures.

The Attorney General's official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

REFERENDUM TO OVERTURN CHANGES TO BALLOT MEASURE ELECTIONS. If signed by the required number of registered voters and filed with the Secretary of State, this petition will place on the statewide ballot a challenge to a state law previously approved by the Legislature and Governor. The law must then be approved by a majority of voters at the next statewide election to go into effect. The law would limit statewide initiatives and referendums to November general elections or special elections, no longer including primary elections, and move the vote on proposed changes to California’s budget reserves to November 2014. (11-0047)

The proponent for this measure, Charles H. Bell, Jr., must collect signatures of 504,760 registered voters – the number equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election – in order to qualify it for the next statewide ballot. The proponent has 90 days from the date the bill is chaptered to request and receive a title and summary from the Attorney General, and circulate petitions for a referendum. SB 202 (Chapter 558, Statutes of 2011) was chaptered on October 7, 2011. The proponent has until January 5, 2012, to submit petition signatures to county election officials.

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1510 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 11-0047.

The referendum proponent can be reached at (916) 442-7757.

To sign up for regular ballot measure updates via email, RSS feed, or Twitter, go to www.sos.ca.gov/multimedia.

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