CA-0021 - Proposed Amendment to Section 11-5 - Initiaitve & Referendum

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Hawaii County Charter Proposal --text Section 11-5. Initiative and Referendum Petitions: Forms and Sufficiency. (a) Initiative and referendum petitions shall be governed by the rules regarding form and sufficiency set forth in this section, as well as by such other rules as the county council may impose by ordinance, consistent with the provisions and with the spirit and purpose of the charter. (b) For acceptance of petitions, the clerk shall require that: (1) The petitions indicate the five members of the committee for that petition by name and residence address as they appear on the general county register for the County of Hawai`i. (2) The petitions indicate the designated representative for the committee and the address to which all notices for the committee are to be sent. (3) The petitions be filed on papers of uniform size and style and assembled as one instrument. (4) Each elector signing such petitions shall print their name, which shall be reasonably similar to their name as it appears on the general county register for the County of Hawai`i, and add their signature, month and day of their birth date, and the last four digits of their social security number on said petition. (5) The petition contain a prominent notice stating whether one or more petition circulators are to be paid. Paid means monetary payment or payment of goods or services. Pay for petition circulators shall not be based on the number of signatures collected. (6) The petition contain the ballot title and the ballot question. (7) Each page of the completed petition form shall be numbered consecutively. (c) For purposes of certification, any petition shall be found insufficient that: (1) Is signed by registered voters of the county equal in number to less than fifteen percent of the number of persons who voted for the office of Mayor in the last Mayoral election. (2) Proposes, or requests [-appeal] repeal of, an ordinance not subject to the powers of initiative or referendum. (d) Signatures are invalid and petitions insufficient: (1) If signers are not given an opportunity to read the full text of the proposed ordinance under an initiative petition, or the designation and description of the ordinance in question under a referendum petition, and if the full text of a proposed ordinance or ordinance under question is not contained in or attached to each signature paper or set of signature papers of an initiative or referendum petition, respectively, throughout circulation. (2) If written statements, executed by the circulators for each set of signature papers, are not attached to the papers at the time of filing of a petition with the clerk. Each written statement shall attest that: a particular individual personally circulated an identifiable set of signed petitions; each signed petition bears a stated number of signatures; each signature on a petition was affixed in the petition circulator's presence; each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be; and the full text of the proposed measure was made available to petition signers. (e) Individuals may withdraw their signatures by submitting a written request to the clerk within fifteen days after the filing of an initiative or referendum petition.