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AP17:084

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2017
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SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Directs California Legislature to Request that Congress Call a Federal Constitutional Convention to Propose Various Amendments to the United States Constitution. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures today. 

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 measure is as follows: 

DIRECTS CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE TO REQUEST THAT CONGRESS CALL A FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO PROPOSE VARIOUS AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Directs California Legislature to request that Congress call a federal constitutional convention to propose various amendments to the United States Constitution addressing, among other things, civil rights, the environment, federal taxation, and California’s sovereignty and independence. Instructs elected state officials to communicate with and support any other state that is interested in calling a federal constitutional convention. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown, but potentially major, changes to state and local budgets if the measure withstands legal challenges, is approved by the voters, and results in three-quarters of states eventually approving amendments to the U.S. Constitution. (17-0017.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1813 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 17-0017. 

The proponent of the measure, Clare Hedin, must collect the 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 ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than April 23, 2018. The proponent can be reached at team@calconcon.com. 

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