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AP18:138

For Immediate Release
September 11, 2018
Contact:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Referendum Enters Circulation

Referendum to Overturn a 2018 Law that Replaced Money Bail System With a System Based on Public Safety Risk.

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

The Attorney General prepares the circulating title and summary that is required to appear on referendum petitions. Once completed, the Attorney General forwards the title and summary to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the referendum may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State 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 OVERTURN A 2018 LAW THAT REPLACED MONEY BAIL SYSTEM WITH A SYSTEM BASED ON PUBLIC SAFETY RISK. If this petition is signed by the required number of registered voters and timely filed, a referendum will be placed on the next statewide ballot requiring a majority of voters to approve a 2018 state law before it can take effect. The 2018 law replaces the money bail system with a system for pretrial release from jail based on a determination of public safety or flight risk, and limits pretrial detention for most misdemeanors. (18-0009)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1856 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 18-0009.

The proponent for the measure, Thomas W. Hiltachk, 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 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 10 (Chapter 244, Statutes of 2018) was chaptered on August 28, 2018. The proponent has until November 26, 2018 to submit petition signatures to county elections officials. The proponent of the referendum did not provide a telephone number or email.

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