HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 2006-096 2004-2006 +tY Oi Mt~
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COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
BILL NO. 273
ORDINANCE NO. C 6 96
AN ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO THE HAWAII COUNTY
CHARTER (2000), RELATING TO VERIFYING AND CERTIFYING PETITIONS FOR
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM, REMOVAL OF ELECTED OFFICERS AND CHARTER
AMENDMENT OR REVISION.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII:
SECTION I. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to amend the Hawaii County
Charter (2000) by removing the social security number requirement for petitions contained in
article XI, Initiative and Referendum, sections 11-4 and 11-5; article XII, Removal of Elected
Officers, chapter 1, section 12-1.3; and Article XV, Charter Amendment or Revisions, section
15-1. These amendments will bring the Hawaii County Charter in compliance with section 7 of
the Federal Privacy Act of 1974, 5 United States Code section 552A. Under the Privacy Act,
social security numbers can no longer be used to verify identification except in very rare
circumstances.
This ordinance will also amend the number of days the County Clerk has to verify and
certify petitions and supplemental petitions from twenty days to twenty working days and five
days to five working days respectively. Utilizing an elector's social security number assisted the
County Clerk to verify the qualifications of voters. This amendment is necessary to provide the
County Clerk additional time to verify and certify petitions without the option of using a voter's
social security number as an identifier.
Finally, this ordinance will amend the charter by deleting "mailing address" from article
XII, Removal of Elected Officers, chapter 1, section 12, of the Hawaii County Charter, because
only the residence address is required to identify and verify a properly registered voter on a
petition.
SECTION 2. Article XI, Initiative and Referendum, section 11-4, Hawaii County
Charter (2000), is amended to read as follows:
"Section 11-4. Initiative and Referendum Petitions: Forms and Sufficiency.
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 immediate acceptance of petitions, the clerk of the council shall require that:
(1) The petitions indicate, by name and address, the five signers who
constitute the petitioners' committee for that petition.
(2) The petitions indicate the address[,] to which all notices for petitioners'
committee are to be sent.
(3) The signatures to petitions be filed on papers of uniform size and style and
assembled as one instrument. Upon presentation, petitions which
reasonably comply with this subsection (a) shall be accepted by the clerk
without delay; petitions shall be rejected for non-compliance.
(4) Electors signing such petitions shall print their names, add their signatures,
residence addresses, and the dates of signing on
said petition.
(c) For purposes of certification, any petition shall be found insufficient which:
(1) Is signed by less than the required number of qualified voters of the
county.
(2) Proposes, or requests appeal 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 affidavits (executed by the circulators for each set of signature papers)
are not attached to the papers at the time of filing of petition with the clerk
of the council. Each affidavit shall attest to the effect that: a particular
individual personally circulated an identifiable set of papers; each paper
bears a stated number of signatures; each signature on a paper was affixed
in the circulator's presence; each signature is the genuine signature of the
person whose name it purports to be.
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(e) Individual signatures may be withdrawn within fifteen days after the filing of an
initiative or referendum petition with the clerk of the council by the filing of a written request
therefor, by the individual, with the clerk of the council."
SECTION 3. Article XI, Initiative and Referendum, section 11-5, Hawaii County
Charter (2000), is amended to read as follows:
"Section 11-5. Initiative and Referendum: Procedure after Filing.
(a) Within twenty working days after the filing of an initiative or referendum petition,
the clerk of the council shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition. As soon
as a certificate is completed, the clerk shall notify the petitioners' committee of the contents of
the certificate. If a petition is certified sufficient, the clerk shall present [kis] the certificate to the
county council at its next meeting. If the clerk certifies a petition insufficient, the certificate shall
show the particulars wherein the petition is defective. A majority of the petitioners' committee
may elect to amend a petition certified insufficient and must so notify the clerk, but if a majority
does not elect to amend a petition, the clerk shall present the certificate to the county council at
its next meeting. A petition is approved for consideration through council action upon the
clerk's certificate of sufficiency.
(b) If a majority of the petitioners' committee elects to amend its petition, then within
ten days after receipt of the clerk's certificate, the committee shall file a supplementary petition
upon additional papers. The supplementary petition shall be governed by the same requirements
as for an original petition. Within five workine days after the filing of a supplemental petition,
the clerk shall complete a second certificate as to the sufficiency of the original petition as
amended by the supplementary petition. Thereafter, the procedural requirements for the petition
as amended shall be the same as that for the original petition as provided in subsection (a), this
section.
(c) A majority of the petitioners' committee may request the county council to review
the clerk's certificate, at or before the meeting at which the clerk presents the certificate to the
council. The council shall review the latest clerk's certificate, upon the committee's request, and
shall approve or reject the certificate or may substitute its own determination of sufficiency of
the petition by resolution. The review actions of the council shall be final but shall not preclude
the filing of a new petition for the same purposes."
SECTION 4. Article XII, Removal of Elected Officers, chapter 1, Recall, section 12-1.3,
Hawaii County Charter (2000), is amended to read as follows:
"Section 12-1.3. Signatures. Signers of a recall petition shall print their names and their
signature, their residence [er~aili~g] address, and the date of
signing on said petition. To each such petition paper there shall be attached an affidavit of the
circulator thereof, stating the number of signers to such part of the petition and that each
signature appended to the paper was made in the circulator's presence and is believed to be the
genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, and that each signer understood
the nature of the recall petition."
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SECTION 5. Article XV, Charter Amendment or Revision, section 15-1, Hawaii
County Charter, is amended to read as follows:
"Section 15-1. Initiation of Amendments or Revisions. Amendments or revisions of
this charter maybe initiated only in the following manner:
(a) By ordinance of the council adopted after three readings on separate days and
passed by the affirmative vote oftwo-thirds of the entire membership.
(b) By petition presented to the council, signed by qualified electors equal in number
to at least twenty percent of the registered voters for the last preceding general election, setting
forth the proposed amendments or revisions. Such petition shall designate and authorize not less
than three nor more than five of the signers thereto to approve any alteration or change in the
form or language or any restatement of the text of the proposed amendments or revisions which
may be made by the corporation counsel.
Electors signing such petition shall print their names, add their signatures, residence
addresses, and the dates of signing on said petition. Signatures may be
on separate sheets but each sheet shall have appended to it the affidavit of some person that to
the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief the persons whose signatures appear on the sheet
are registered electors of the county, that they signed with knowledge of the contents of the
petition and that their residences are correctly given.
Upon filing of such petition with the council, the county [clerks] clerk shall examine the
same to see whether it contains a sufficient number of apparently genuine signatures of
registered voters. The clerk may question the genuineness of any [ ' ]
signature appearing on the petition [and--i-I] or affidavit. If the clerk finds that any such signature
[ar~ignatcres are] on the petition or affidavit is not genuine, the clerk shall disregazd [thern] such
signature. a°.°.....:..:..,....,.,..,.°_ „ ~..rr.,.:°.,..,...,,~°.. °r..:,..,.,.....°.. ] The
clerk shall eliminate any sheet of the petition which is not accompanied by [the-regci~ed] a valid
affidavit. The invalidity of any sheet shall not affect the validity of the petition if a sufficient
number of signatures [reEnains] remain after eliminating such invalid sheet. The clerk shall
complete the examination of the petition within twenty working days."
SECTION 6. New material is underscored. Material to be repealed is bracketed and
stricken. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, stricken material and the underscoring need not
be included.
SECTION 7. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not effect other provisions or
applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
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SECTION 8. Upon adoption of this ordinance, this council, by appropriate resolution,
shall provide that this amendment be submitted to the electorate of Hawaii County for approval
at the 2006 election.
SECTION 9. The charter amendment proposed in this ordinance shalt take effect upon
its approval by a majority of voters in the 2006 general election.
INTRODUCED BY:
r
CO CIL MEMBER, COUN Y OF HAWAII
Kona ,Hawaii
Date of Introduction: May 17 , 200 6
Date of ls` Reading: May 17 , 2006
Date of 2"d Reading: June 5 , 2006
Date of 3rd Reading: June 21, 2006
Effective Date: June 30, 2006
R~~ c°RcNCI:: Comm: 835
5
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK
County of Hawaii
Kona, Hawaii
Introduced By: ROLL C L VOTE
Date Introduced: AYC{tya "AB X
First Reading: Arakaki
Published: Higa ~,lUi`1i'= ~.1,1,~'~'
Hoffmann
REMARKS: Holschuh
Ikeda
Isbell
Jacobson
Pilago
Safa '
Third Reading: June 21, 2006
To Mayor: June 22, 2006 ROLL CALL VOTE
Returned: July 3, 2006 AYES NOES ABS EX
Effective: June 30, 2006 Arakaki g
Published: July 11, 2006 Higa
Hoffmann X
REMARKS: Holschuh
X
Ikeda X
Isbell g
Jacobson X
Pilago
Safarik g
8 0 1 0
I DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing BILL was adopted by the County Council published as
indicated above.
APPROVED AS TO
F M AND LEGALITY:
COUNCIL CHAIRMAN
~EP~TI~CORPORATION COUNSEL l i„
COUNTY OF HAWAII
COUNTY CLERK
Date ~~N 2 3 2006
273
Bill No.:
3~dM-. day Reference: C-835/FC-295
Approve isapproved this
Ord No.: 6 96
of wnz• , 20 O
C
YOR, C UN OFHAWA77
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK
County of Hawaii
Hilo, Hawaii
In[roducedBy: Virginia Isbell ROLL CALL VOTE
Date Introduced: May 17, 2006 AYES NOES ABS EX
First Reading: May 17, 2006 Arakaki X
Published: May 30, 2006 Higa X
Hoffmann X
REMARKS: Holschuh X
Ikeda X
Isbell X
Jacobson X
Pilago X
Safazik X
9 0 0 0
Second Reading: June 5, 2006
To Mayor: N/A ROLL CALL VOTE
Returned: N/A AYES NOES ABS EX
Effective: Arakaki X
Published: Higa X
Hoffmann X
REMARKS. Holschuh X
Ikeda X
Isbell X
Jacobson X
Pilago X
Safarik X
9 0 0 0
DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing BILL was adopted by the County Council published as
indicated above.
APPROVED AS TO
FORM AND LEGALITY:
COUNC/L CHAIRMAN
DEPUTY CORPORATION COUNSEL
COUNTY OF HAWAII
COUNTY CLERK
Date
273
Bill No.:
C-835/FC-295
ApprovecUDisupprovedthis. day Reference:
Ord No.:
of , 10
MAYOR, COUNTY OF HAWAII