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Proposed Referendum Enters Circulation

Referendum to Allow Personal Belief Exemption from Mandatory Immunization Program for Schoolchildren.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new referendum 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, and the referendum may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows: 

REFERENDUM TO ALLOW PERSONAL BELIEF EXEMPTION FROM MANDATORY IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN. If signed by the required number of registered voters and timely 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 the Governor. The challenged law must then be approved by a majority of voters at the next statewide election to go into effect. The law eliminates the personal belief exemption from the state’s mandatory immunization program for schoolchildren. (15-0035.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1693 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0035.

The proponent for the measure, Tim Donnelley, must collect signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 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 gather petition signatures for the referendum. SB 277 (Chapter 35, Statutes of 2015) was chaptered on June 30, 2015. The proponent has until September 28, 2015 to submit petition signatures to county election officials. The referendum proponent can be reached at (760) 933-8460.

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