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Three Proposed Initiatives Enter Circulation

1. Display of State Flag. Initiative Statute.
2. Political Contributions. Out-of-State Donors. Initiative Statute.
3. President of California. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the proponent of three new initiatives may begin collecting petition signatures for his measures. 

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative 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 first measure is as follows:

DISPLAY OF STATE FLAG. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires display of the California State flag in the position of first honor when both the United States flag and the California State flag are displayed at schools, universities, colleges, courtrooms, government buildings, and state parks, and at events held in coliseums, stadiums, bowls, other open air sites, and race tracks. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Likely no fiscal effect on state and local governments. (15-0011.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1674 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0011. 

The proponent for the measure, Louis J. Marinelli, must collect signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 gubernatorial election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot.

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

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. OUT-OF-STATE DONORS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Prohibits candidates, committees, and certain political mailer organizations from receiving funds from non-California residents. Exempts funds provided to candidates for federal office, or to political mailer organizations advocating for or against candidates for federal office. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state and local costs to administer and enforce campaign finance and disclosure laws, possibly in the range of a few hundred thousand dollars initially. (15-0012.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1675 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0012. 

The proponent for the measure, Louis J. Marinelli, must collect signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 gubernatorial election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot.

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

PRESIDENT OF CALIFORNIA. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Amends the California Constitution to replace the word Governor with the word President. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Potential minor one-time costs to state and local government to change the name of the chief executive in government documents. (15-0013.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1676 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0013. 

The proponent for the measure, Louis J. Marinelli, must collect signatures of 585,407 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 gubernatorial election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot.

The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for each measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by November 25, 2015.  The proponent can be reached at ljmarinelli@soverignca.org. No phone number was provided.

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