2010 California Code
Elections Code
Article 1. Initiative And Referendum Petitions

9000.  This article applies only to initiative and referendum
measures affecting the Constitution or laws of the state.



9001.  (a) Prior to the circulation of any initiative or referendum
petition for signatures, the text of the proposed measure shall be
submitted to the Attorney General with a written request that a
circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the
proposed measure be prepared. The electors presenting the request
shall be known as the "proponents." The Attorney General shall
preserve the written request until after the next general election.
   (b) Each and every proponent of any proposed initiative measure
shall, at the time of submitting the text of the proposed measure,
provide both of the following:
   (1) An original signed certification stating that "I, (insert
name), declare under penalty of perjury that I am a citizen of the
United States, 18 years of age or older, and a resident of (insert
county), California."
   (2) Public contact information.
   (c) The proponents of any initiative measure, at the time of
submitting the text of the proposed measure to the Attorney General,
shall pay a fee of two hundred dollars ($200), which shall be placed
in a trust fund in the office of the Treasurer and refunded to the
proponents if the measure qualifies for the ballot within two years
from the date the summary is furnished to the proponents. If the
measure does not qualify within that period, the fee shall be
immediately paid into the General Fund of the state.
   (d) All referenda and proposed initiative measures must be
submitted to the Attorney General's Initiative Coordinator located in
the Sacramento Attorney General's Office via U.S. Postal Service,
alternative mail service, or personal delivery. Only printed
documents will be accepted, facsimile or e-mail delivery will not be
accepted.
   (e) The Attorney General's office shall not deem a request for a
circulating title and summary submitted until all of the requirements
of this section are met.


9002.  (a) The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title
and summary to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of
the final version of a proposed initiative measure, or, if a fiscal
estimate or opinion is to be included, within 15 days after receipt
of the fiscal estimate or opinion prepared by the Department of
Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee pursuant to
Section 9005. If during the 15-day period the proponents of the
proposed initiative measure submit amendments, other than technical,
nonsubstantive amendments, to the final version of the measure, the
Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title and summary to the
Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of the amendments.
   (b) The amendment must be submitted with a signed request by all
the proponents to prepare a circulating title and summary using the
amended language.
   (c) The amendment must be submitted to the Attorney General's
Initiative Coordinator located in the Sacramento Attorney General's
Office via U.S. Postal Service, alternative mail service or personal
delivery. Only printed documents will be accepted, facsimile or
e-mail delivery will not be accepted.


9003.  In the event that the Attorney General is a proponent of a
proposed measure, the circulating title and summary of the chief
purpose and points of the proposed measure, including an estimate or
opinion on the financial impact of the measure, shall be prepared by
the Legislative Counsel, and the other duties of the Attorney General
specified in this chapter with respect to the circulating title and
ballot title and summary and an estimate of the financial effect of
the measure shall be performed by the Legislative Counsel.



9004.  (a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed initiative
measure, the Attorney General shall prepare a circulating title and
summary of the chief purposes and points of the proposed measure. The
circulating title and summary shall not exceed a total of 100 words.
The Attorney General shall also provide a unique numeric identifier
for each proposed initiative measure. The circulating title and
summary shall be prepared in the manner provided for the preparation
of ballot titles and summaries in Article 5 (commencing with Section
9050), the provisions of which, in regard to the preparation, filing,
and settlement of ballot titles and summaries, are hereby made
applicable to the circulating title and summary.
   (b) The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the circulating
title and summary and its unique numeric identifier to the proponents
and to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of the
fiscal estimate or opinion prepared by the Department of Finance and
the Joint Legislative Budget Committee pursuant to Section 9005. The
date the copy is delivered or mailed to the proponents is the
"official summary date."
   (c) Upon receipt of the circulating title and summary from the
Attorney General, the Secretary of State shall, within one business
day, notify the proponents and county elections official of each
county of the official summary date and provide a copy of the
circulating title and summary to each county elections official. This
notification shall also include a complete schedule showing the
maximum filing deadline, and the certification deadline by the
counties to the Secretary of State.



9005.  (a) The Attorney General, in preparing a circulating title
and summary for a proposed initiative measure, shall, in boldface
print, include in the circulating title and summary either the
estimate of the amount of any increase or decrease in revenues or
costs to the state or local government, or an opinion as to whether
or not a substantial net change in state or local finances would
result if the proposed initiative is adopted.
   (b) The estimate as required by this section shall be made jointly
by the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee, who shall deliver the estimate to the Attorney General so
that he or she may include the estimate in the circulating title and
summary prepared by him or her.
   (c) The estimate shall be delivered to the Attorney General within
25 working days from the date of receipt of the final version of the
proposed initiative measure from the Attorney General, unless, in
the opinion of both the Department of Finance and the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee, a reasonable estimate of the net impact
of the proposed initiative measure cannot be prepared within the
25-day period. In the latter case, the Department of Finance and the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee shall, within the 25-day period,
give the Attorney General their opinion as to whether or not a
substantial net change in state or local finances would result if the
proposed initiative measure is adopted.
   (d) A statement of fiscal impact prepared by the Legislative
Analyst pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12172 of the
Government Code may be used by the Department of Finance and the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee in the preparation of the fiscal
estimate or the opinion.



9006.  (a) Upon receipt of the text of a proposed referendum, the
Attorney General shall prepare a circulating title and summary of the
chief purpose and points of the proposed statute at issue. The
circulating title and summary shall not exceed a total of 100 words.
No fiscal analysis shall be included.
   (b) The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the circulating
title and summary of the proposed referendum to the proponents and to
the Secretary of State within 10 days after receipt of the proposed
referendum.
   (c) Upon receipt of the circulating title and summary from the
Attorney General, the Secretary of State shall, within one business
day, notify the proponents and county elections official of each
county of the official summary date and provide a copy of the
circulating title and summary to each county elections official. This
notification shall also include a complete schedule showing the
maximum filing deadline, and the certification deadline by the
counties to the Secretary of State.



9007.  Immediately upon the preparation of the circulating title and
summary of a proposed initiative or referendum measure, the Attorney
General shall forthwith transmit copies of the text of the measure
and the circulating title and summary to the Senate and the Assembly.
The appropriate committees of each house may hold public hearings on
the subject of the measure. However, nothing in this section shall
be construed as authority for the Legislature to alter the measure or
prevent it from appearing on the ballot.



9008.  Every proposed initiative measure, prior to circulation,
shall have placed across the top of the petition in 12-point or
larger roman boldface type, all of the following:
   (a) The Attorney General's unique numeric identifier placed before
the circulating title and summary upon each page where the
circulating title and summary is to appear.
   (b) The circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney
General upon each page of the petition on which signatures are to
appear.
   (c) The circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney
General upon each section of the petition preceding the text of the
measure.
   (d) The circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney
General as required by subdivision (c) shall be preceded by the
following statement: "Initiative measure to be submitted directly to
the voters."


9009.  The heading of an initiative petition shall be in
substantially the following form:
   Initiative Measure to Be Submitted Directly to the Voters
   The Attorney General of California has prepared the following
circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the
proposed measure:
   (Here set forth the unique numeric identifier provided by the
Attorney General and circulating title and summary prepared by the
Attorney General. Both the Attorney General's unique numeric
identifier and the circulating title and summary must also be printed
across the top of each page of the petition whereon signatures are
to appear.)
   To the Honorable Secretary of State of California
   We, the undersigned, registered, qualified voters of California,
residents of ____ County (or City and County), hereby propose
amendments to the Constitution of California (the ____ Code, relating
to ____) and petition the Secretary of State to submit the same to
the voters of California for their adoption or rejection at the next
succeeding general election or at any special statewide election held
prior to that general election or as otherwise provided by law. The
proposed constitutional (or statutory) amendments (full title and
text of the measure) read as follows:


9010.  Across the top of each page of a referendum petition, there
shall be printed in 12-point boldface type the following:
   "Referendum Against an Act Passed by the Legislature."



9011.  Across the top of each page after the first page of every
referendum petition or section of a referendum petition, which is
prepared and circulated, there shall be printed in 18-point gothic
type a short title, in 20 words or less, showing the nature of the
petition and the subject to which it relates.
   A space at least one inch wide shall be left blank at the top of
each page and after each name, for the use of the county elections
official, in verifying the petition.



9012.   Any petition for a proposed initiative measure or referendum
may be presented in sections, but each section shall contain a full
and correct copy of the circulating title and summary and text of the
proposed measure. The text of the proposed measure shall be printed
in type not smaller than 8 point.


9013.   A space at least one inch wide shall be left blank across
the top of each page of every initiative and referendum petition and
after the name of each voter who has signed the petition for the use
of the county elections official in verifying the petition.



9014.  A petition for a proposed initiative measure or referendum
shall not be circulated for signatures prior to the official summary
date. A petition with signatures on a proposed initiative measure
shall be filed with the county elections official not later than 150
days from the official summary date, and no county elections official
shall accept a petition on the proposed initiative measure after
that period. A petition for a proposed referendum measure shall be
filed with the county elections officials not later than 90 days from
the date the legislative bill was chaptered by the Secretary of
State, and a county elections official shall not accept a petition
for the proposed referendum after that period.




9015.  Officers required by law to receive or file in their offices
any initiative or referendum petition shall not receive or file any
initiative or referendum petition not in conformity with this
article.


9016.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no initiative
measure shall be placed on a statewide special election ballot that
qualifies less than 131 days before the date of the election.



9017.  If, for any reason, any initiative or referendum measure
proposed by petition as provided by this article is not submitted to
the voters at the next succeeding statewide election, that failure
shall not prevent its submission at a succeeding statewide election.




9018.  The Secretary of State shall prepare and provide to any
person, upon request, a pamphlet describing the procedures and
requirements for preparing and circulating a statewide initiative
measure and for filing sections of the petition, and describing the
procedure used in determining and verifying the number of qualified
voters who have signed the petition.