HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1056.006 2006-2008
BRENDA J. FORD V °`,•"•!!q Phone: (808) 326-5684
Council Member Fax: (808) 329-4786
District 7-Central Kona E-Mail: bford@co.hawaii.hi.us
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HAWAI'I COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawai'i
.7
Kailua Trade Center 10
75-5706 Hanama Place, Suite 109 C rN m _ -
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 - fV
DATE: March 18, 2008
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TO: Pete Hoffmann, Chair / ca
and Members of the Hawaii County Council FROM: Brenda J. Ford, Council Member
RE: Proposed Amendments to Bill 257, Draft 2, Relating to a Proposed Charter Amendment
to Article XI, Initiative and Referendum
Please find attached a proposed draft for Bill 257, Draft 3. Bill 257, Draft 2, relates to proposed Charter
amendments to article XI, Initiative and Referendum.
For illustrative purposes, proposed amendments to the existing language of Bill 257, Draft 2, have been
bolded and ramseyered below.
1. Section 11-2, Definitions, is proposed to be amended by adding a definition for a "Dispute
Resolution Panel". Section 11-2 is amended to read as follows:
"Section 11-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Ballot Question" means an interrogative statement that plainly
phrases the chief purpose of the initiative or referendum so that an
affirmative response corresponds to a "yes" vote.
"Ballot summary" means a concise, impartial explanation of the
measure and its major effects.
"Ballot title" means a brief phrase identifying the subject of the
initiative or referendum.
"Circulators" means adults who circulate copies of the petition
among registered voters for signature. /W4
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Ref. To: _ - ZUUT
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Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawaii County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer
March 19, 2008
Page 2
"Clerk" means the clerk of the Hawaii County Council.
"Committee" means the petitioners' committee formed pursuant to
section 11-3.
"Dispute Resolution Panel" means a four or five member,
volunteer panel of aualified voters, comprised of two panelists
appointed by the clerk, two panelists appointed by the committee, and
a fifth panelist chosen by the four appointed panelists. If a fifth
panelist cannot be agreed upon, then the panel may operate with four
panelists and a vacancy.
"Petition form" means a petition without voter signatures and other
voter identifying information.
"Petition or signed petition" means the petition form containing the
voters' signatures and other voter identifying information, the ballot title,
ballot question, and ballot summary."
2. Section 11-4, Initiative and Referendum Process, is proposed to be amended to clarify that the
residence address for members of the petitioners' committee is required, add provisions for a "Dispute
Resolution Panel" (as defined in section 11-2), make amendments to the county clerk's responsibilities
regarding notice to the petitioner's committee, and reformat subsequent subsections to accommodate for
the addition of a new subsection. Section 11-4 is amended to read as follows:
"Section 11-4. Initiative and Referendum Process
(a) The clerk shall provide the committee with a sample petition form
upon request.
(b) Prior to circulating an initiative or referendum petition, the
committee shall give notice to the clerk of the following:
(1) The names and residence addresses of the committee
members as they appear on the general county register, the
committee's designated representative, and the address to
which all notices shall be sent;
(2) For an initiative, a completed petition form identifying the
ordinance to be modified or introduced, along with the
proposed language for the petition;
(3) For a referendum, a completed petition form identifying the
ordinance or part of an ordinance to be repealed; [and]
(4) A proposed ballot title, ballot question, and an objective
ballot summary[.]
(5) The name of the committee's two representatives to the
Dispute Resolution Panel and the clerk shall provide the
March 19, 2008
Page 3
names of two panelists and form the panel within ten
workine days.
(c) At any time during the Initiative or Referendum process, if a
dispute arises between the petitioner's committee and the
clerk, either party may appeal to the Dispute Resolution Panel.
Matters submitted to the Dispute Resolution Panel shall be
decided within fifteen days. The parameters of the powers,
duties, and responsibilities of the Dispute Resolution Panel
shall be established by ordinance.
[(O]J!LFor purposes of this article, notice shall be in writing and sent via
United States mail, return receipt requested or delivered in person,
provided both the sender and receiver sign and date a receipt. The
date of receipt will be the date the recipient's signature was affixed
or ten days after the postmarked date, whichever occurs first.
[(d)](e)Within ten working days of receipt of the notice in 11-4(b), the
clerk shall give notice to the committee that the proposed petition
form, ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary are
acceptable or shall propose alternative language.
[(e)]JL If the proposed language is acceptable, the clerk shall give the
committee notice of acceptance and the language shall be final.
[(€~](g1 If the clerk proposes alternative language, the clerk shall give the
committee notice of the proposed language within ten working
days of receipt of the alternative language. If the committee objects
to the alternate language, the committee shall send a notice to the
clerk of its objections and submit a revised petition form, ballot
title, ballot question and ballot summary to the clerk within ten
working days of receipt of the alternative language. The clerk
shall accept the proposed revision as the final language.
[(g)l(h)If the language of the proposed ordinance is found to be within the
power of initiative or referendum of the County of Hawaii, within
five working days of finalization of the petition form, ballot title,
ballot question and ballot summary, the clerk shall:
(1) Submit them to the council for informational purposes
utilizing the council's rules and procedures; and
(2) Give notice to the committee of:
March 19, 2008
Page 4
(A) The final petition form, ballot title, ballot question,
and ballot summary;
(B) The deadline date set by the State of Hawaii
[Eleetions Offiee] Office of Elections for the
submission of the ballot title, ballot question, and
ballot summary;
(C) The number of signatures required for a certificate
of sufficiency; and
(D) A timeline that gives dates at which submissions
and specific actions shall occur and which also
acknowledges that the need for dispute
resolution may change some dates.
[(k)l(i) Within thirty working days after the filing of an initiative or
referendum petition, the clerk shall complete a certificate as to the
sufficiency of the petition. During this thirty day period, the
committee may continue to gather signatures.
[(i)]JU As soon as a certificate is completed, the clerk shall notify the
committee of the contents of the certificate. If a petition is
certified sufficient, the clerk shall present the certificate to the
county council at the first council meeting where it can be legally
agendized.
[(i)] lac If the clerk certifies a petition insufficient, the certificate shall
show the particulars wherein the petition is defective. If a majority
of the committee chooses to continue to collect signatures, then the
committee shall within twenty working days after receipt of the
clerk's certificate of insufficiency, file a supplemental petition.
The supplemental petition shall be governed by the same
requirements as the original petition.
[(k)]M Within fifteen working days from the filing of a supplemental
petition, the clerk shall complete a second certificate as to the
sufficiency of the supplemental petition. Thereafter, the
procedural requirements for the supplemental petition shall be the
same as that for the original petition.
[(1)](m) If a majority of the committee does not choose to amend a petition
or collect additional signatures, the clerk shall present the
certificate to the county council at the first council meeting where
March 19, 2008
Page 5
it can be legally agendized. A petition is approved for
consideration through council action upon the clerk's certificate of
sufficiency.
[(m)](n)The clerk shall present the certificate to the council at the earliest
meeting at which the certificate can be legally agendized. 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.
[(n)]UThe council shall proceed immediately to consider an initiative or
referendum petition which has been determined sufficient in
accordance with the provisions of this article. If an initiative
petition is concerned, the ordinance it proposes shall at once be
introduced subject to the procedures required for ordinances under
this charter; however, not more than sixty days shall elapse
between the time of first reading of the initiative proposal as a bill
and completion of consideration to adopt, amend, or reject the
same. If a referendum petition is concerned, the ordinance to
which that petition is directed shall be reconsidered by the council;
and not later than thirty days after the date on which the petition
was determined sufficient, the council shall by resolution repeal or
sustain the ordinance.
[(e)]fpJ If the council fails to adopt an initiative proposal or adopts a
proposal with an amendment unfavorable to a majority of the
committee, or if the council fails to repeal an ordinance
reconsidered pursuant to a referendum petition, the clerk shall
submit the final language approved by the petitioner's committee
with its appropriate ballot title and ballot language to the voters of
the county at the next general election. The ballot for such
measures shall contain the final ballot summary and shall have
below the ballot title designated spaces in which to mark the ballot
FOR or AGAINST the measure.
[(p)]JgJThe clerk shall publish the ballot title, ballot question, ballot
summary and arguments for and against the measure in the Sunday
paper of two Hawaii Island daily papers with the largest
circulation, for the three Sundays preceding the election. The
committee shall be given the opportunity to write the argument in
March 19, 2008
Page 6
favor of the measure. If a group of five qualified voters of Hawaii
County give notice to the clerk that they wish to write the
arguments against the measure, the clerk shall publish their
arguments. Both sets of arguments shall be published in the same
papers, on the same page, on the same days, utilizing the same size
print. The names and addresses of the committee and the opposing
group as they appear on the general county register for the County
of Hawai` i shall appear in the publication."
3. Section 11-5, Initiative and Referendum Petitions; Forms and Sufficiency, is proposed to
be amended to clarify that a "residence" address is required on submitted petitions. Section 1I-
5(b)(1) is amended to read as follows:
"(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."
4. Section 11-7, Results of Election, is proposed to be amended by changing "3" to "three"
in section 11 -7(d), to be consistent with the formatting style of the charter. Section 11-7(d) is
amended to read as follows:
"(d) Ordinances passed using Article XI, Initiative and
Referendum, shall not be repealed or amended for at least
[3] three years from the date of election approval, except
by a two-thirds vote of the Hawai'i County Council."
A copy of the proposed draft is attached with proposed amendments incorporated. Proposed
amendments have retained bolding to delineate these proposed amendments from previously
approved language.
Please number this memorandum as a communication and provide to the council for the March
25, 2008, meeting of the full council.
Thank you.
BJF
Att.
ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XI OF THE
HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER (2000), RELATING TO INITIATIVE AND
REFERENDUM.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Article XI, Hawaii County Charter (2000), is repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 2. The Hawaii County Charter (2000), is amended by adding a new article, to be
numbered Article XI, and to read as follows:
"ARTICLE XI
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
Section 11-1. Powers of Initiative and Referendum.
(a) The power of voters to propose ordinances or to amend existing ordinances shall be the
initiative power.
(b) The power of voters to approve or repeal ordinances by election shall be the referendum
power.
Section 11-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Ballot Question" means an interrogative statement that plainly phrases the chief purpose of
the initiative or referendum so that an affirmative response corresponds to a "yes" vote.
"Ballot summary" means a concise, impartial explanation of the measure and its major effects.
"Ballot title" means a brief phrase identifying the subject of the initiative or referendum.
"Circulators" means adults who circulate copies of the petition among registered voters for
signature.
"Clerk" means the clerk of the Hawai'i County Council.
"Committee" means the petitioners' committee formed pursuant to section 11-3.
"Dispute Resolution Panel" means a four or five member, volunteer panel of qualified
voters, comprised of two panelists appointed by the clerk, two panelists appointed by the
committee, and a fifth panelist chosen by the four appointed panelists. If a fifth panelist
cannot be agreed upon, then the panel may operate with four panelists and a vacancy.
"Petition form" means a petition without voter signatures and other voter identifying information.
"Petition or signed petition" means the petition form containing the voters' signatures and
other voter identifying information, the ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary.
Section 11-3. Petitioners' Committee.
For each initiative or referendum petition there shall be a petitioners' committee representing
all the petitioners, which committee shall be composed of five members who shall be qualified
voters of the county and signers of the petition. The committee shall be responsible for
circulation of the petition and for assembling and filing the petition in proper form. There shall
be a committee chair who will be responsible for sending and receiving all communications
between the clerk and the committee. The committee shall have the power to amend or withdraw
the petition as provided in this charter.
Section 11-4. Initiative and Referendum Process
(a) The clerk shall provide the committee with a sample petition form upon request.
(b) Prior to circulating an initiative or referendum petition, the committee shall give notice to
the clerk of the following:
(1) The names and residence addresses of the committee members as they appear on
the general county register, the committee's designated representative, and the
address to which all notices shall be sent;
(2) For an initiative, a completed petition form identifying the ordinance to be
modified or introduced, along with the proposed language for the petition;
(3) For a referendum, a completed petition form identifying the ordinance or part of
an ordinance to be repealed;
(4) A proposed ballot title, ballot question, and an objective ballot summary; and
(5) The name of the committee's two representatives to the Dispute Resolution
Panel and the clerk shall provide the names of two panelists and form the
panel within ten working days.
(c) At any time during the Initiative or Referendum process, if a dispute arises between
the petitioner's committee and the clerk, either party may appeal to the Dispute
Resolution Panel. Matters submitted to the Dispute Resolution Panel shall be
decided within fifteen days. The parameters of the powers, duties, and
responsibilities of the Dispute Resolution Panel shall be established by ordinance.
(d) For purposes of this article, notice shall be in writing and sent via United States mail,
return receipt requested or delivered in person, provided both the sender and receiver sign
and date a receipt. The date of receipt will be the date the recipient's signature was
affixed or ten days after the postmarked date, whichever occurs first.
(e) Within ten working days of receipt of the notice in 11-4(b), the clerk shall give notice to
the committee that the proposed petition form, ballot title, ballot question, and ballot
summary are acceptable or shall propose alternative language.
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(f) If the proposed language is acceptable, the clerk shall give the committee notice of
acceptance and the language shall be final.
(g) If the clerk proposes alternative language, the clerk shall give the committee notice of the
proposed language within ten working days of receipt of the alternative language. If the
committee objects to the alternate language, the committee shall send a notice to the clerk
of its objections and submit a revised petition form, ballot title, ballot question and ballot
summary to the clerk within ten working days of receipt of the alternative language. The
clerk shall accept the proposed revision as the final language.
(h) If the language of the proposed ordinance is found to be within the power of initiative or
referendum of the County of Hawaii, within five working days of finalization of the
petition form, ballot title, ballot question and ballot summary, the clerk shall:
(1) Submit them to the council for informational purposes utilizing the council's rules
and procedures; and
(2) Give notice to the committee of:
(A) The final petition form, ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary;
(B) The deadline date set by the State of Hawaii Office of Elections for the
submission of the ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary;
(C) The number of signatures required for a certificate of sufficiency; and
(D) A timeline that gives dates at which submissions and specific actions shall
occur and which also acknowledges that the need for dispute
resolution may change some dates.
(i) Within thirty working days after the filing of an initiative or referendum petition, the
clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition. During this thirty
day period, the committee may continue to gather signatures.
(j) As soon as a certificate is completed, the clerk shall notify the committee of the contents
of the certificate. If a petition is certified sufficient, the clerk shall present the certificate
to the county council at the first council meeting where it can be legally agendized.
(k) If the clerk certifies a petition insufficient, the certificate shall show the particulars
wherein the petition is defective. If a majority of the committee chooses to continue to
collect signatures, then the committee shall within twenty working days after receipt of
the clerk's certificate of insufficiency, file a supplemental petition. The supplemental
petition shall be governed by the same requirements as the original petition.
(1) Within fifteen working days from the filing of a supplemental petition, the clerk shall
complete a second certificate as to the sufficiency of the supplemental petition.
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Thereafter, the procedural requirements for the supplemental petition shall be the same as
that for the original petition.
(m) If a majority of the committee does not choose to amend a petition or collect additional
signatures, the clerk shall present the certificate to the county council at the first council
meeting where it can be legally agendized. A petition is approved for consideration
through council action upon the clerk's certificate of sufficiency.
(n) The clerk shall present the certificate to the council at the earliest meeting at which the
certificate can be legally agendized. 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.
(o) The council shall proceed immediately to consider an initiative or referendum petition
which has been determined sufficient in accordance with the provisions of this article. If
an initiative petition is concerned, the ordinance it proposes shall at once be introduced
subject to the procedures required for ordinances under this charter; however, not more
than sixty days shall elapse between the time of first reading of the initiative proposal as a
bill and completion of consideration to adopt, amend, or reject the same. If a referendum
petition is concerned, the ordinance to which that petition is directed shall be
reconsidered by the council; and not later than thirty days after the date on which the
petition was determined sufficient, the council shall by resolution repeal or sustain the
ordinance.
(p) If the council fails to adopt an initiative proposal or adopts a proposal with an amendment
unfavorable to a majority of the committee, or if the council fails to repeal an ordinance
reconsidered pursuant to a referendum petition, the clerk shall submit the final language
approved by the petitioner's committee with its appropriate ballot title and ballot
language to the voters of the county at the next general election. The ballot for such
measures shall contain the final ballot summary and shall have below the ballot title
designated spaces in which to mark the ballot FOR or AGAINST the measure.
(q) The clerk shall publish the ballot title, ballot question, ballot summary and arguments for
and against the measure in the Sunday paper of two Hawaii Island daily papers with the
largest circulation, for the three Sundays preceding the election. The committee shall be
given the opportunity to write the argument in favor of the measure. If a group of five
qualified voters of Hawaii County give notice to the clerk that they wish to write the
arguments against the measure, the clerk shall publish their arguments. Both sets of
arguments shall be published in the same papers, on the same page, on the same days,
utilizing the same size print. The names and addresses of the committee and the opposing
group as they appear on the general county register for the County of Hawaii shall
appear in the publication.
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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 Hawaii.
(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 signatures to 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, add their signature,
residence or mailing address, month and day of their birth date, and the month,
day, and year of signing on said petition. The information provided by the signer
of the petition shall be deemed acceptable if the clerk judges three of the four
following qualifiers to be reasonably similar to the information on the general
register of the County of Hawaii: name, signature, residence or mailing address,
and the month and day of their birth date.
(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 less than ten percent of the voters who voted in the last Mayoral
election.
(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.
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(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.
Section 11-6. Withdrawal of Petition.
A petitioners' committee may withdraw a petition at any time, but not later than the
thirtieth day immediately preceding the day scheduled for a vote in the county on a measure
concerned. A petitioners' committee shall be requested to withdraw its petition and the
committee must comply, if the aims of the petition are resolved by intermediate council action to
the satisfaction of the committee such that the initiative proposal is adopted as an ordinance, or
that the ordinance reconsidered by the referendum petition is repealed. A written request for
petition withdrawal must be signed by four of the five members of the petitioners' committee
and filed with the council clerk. The filing of a withdrawal immediately cancels the petition and
ceases all further action for the accommodation of the petition by the county.
Section 11-7. Results of Election.
(a) A "no" vote shall be a negative response. A non-vote, where there is no response, shall
not be counted affirmatively or negatively.
(b) If a majority of the voters voting upon a proposed initiative ordinance shall vote in favor
of it, the ordinance involved shall thereupon be an ordinance of the county once the
election is certified or be effective as of the date stated in the initiative measure. A
proposed initiative ordinance which is not approved by a majority of the voters voting on
it shall thereupon fail.
(c) If a majority of the voters voting upon a proposed referendum ordinance shall vote in
favor of it, the ordinance involved shall thereupon be repealed once the election is
certified or be repealed as of the date stated in the referendum measure. A proposed
referendum ordinance which is not approved by a majority of the voters voting on it shall
thereupon fail.
(d) Ordinances passed using Article XI, Initiative and Referendum, shall not be repealed or
amended for at least three years from the date of election approval, except by a two-
thirds vote of the Hawai'i County Council.
(e) Legislation passed by this article shall not be subject to veto by the Mayor.
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SECTION 3. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect 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.
SECTION 4. 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
2008 general election.
SECTION 5. The charter amendment proposed in this ordinance shall take effect upon its
approval by a majority of voters voting on this legislation in the 2008 general election.
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