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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 06-096COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII BILL NO. ORDINANCE NO. C 6 96 273 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. (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 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, [seeial .."..._ity n .mher °] 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. (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 [his] 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 working 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 [or rnailin ] address, [theiF seeial ..,,,..._ity number] 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." 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 may be 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 of two - 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, [seeial seourity numbers] 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 [signatures ] signature appearing on the petition [an4-4] or affidavit. If the clerk finds that any such signature [or signatures are] on the petition or affidavit is not genuine, the clerk shall disregard [them] such signature. [in deto.....inin,.whether the petition ,.mains „ S..r- i-cient number of signatures-.] The clerk shall eliminate any sheet of the petition which is not accompanied by [the required] 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. M 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 shall take effect upon its approval by a majority of voters in the 2006 general election. INTRODUCED BY: CO CIL MEMBER, COUN Y OF HAWAII Kona , Hawai`i Date of Introduction: May 17, 2006 Date of ls` Reading: May 17, 2006 Date of 2 "d Reading: June 5, 2006 Date of 3`d Reading: June 21, 2006 Effective Date: June 30, 2006 REEP ERENCF; Comm: 835 OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK County of Hawaii Kona, Hawaii Introduced By: Date Introduced: First Reading: Published: REMARKS Third Reading: June 21, 2006 To Mayor: June 22, 2006 Returned: July 3, 2006 Effective: June 30, 2006 Published: July 11, 2006 REMARKS ROLL C L VOTE AYES AY Sj 1,W9, 'AB X Arakaki Higa Higa 4, QiJi`1 i'= Hoffmann Hoffmann Holschuh Holschuh g Ikeda Ikeda Isbell Isbell Jacobson Jacobson Pilago Pilago Safarik Safa ' 8 0 1 0 ROLL CALL VOTE AYES NOES ABS EX Arakaki g Higa x Hoffmann X Holschuh g Ikeda X Isbell g Jacobson X Pilago g 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: E)EPH;F" CORPORATION COUNSEL COUNTY OF HAWAII Date JUN 2 3 2006 dM - . Approve isapprovedthis 30 day Of j um..t• , 20 O �. C YOR, C UN I OFHAWAI'I Aei AV COUNCIL CHAIRMAN &3i& �� A�' - COUNTY CLERK 273 Bill No.: Reference: Ord No.: C- 835 /FC -295 C 6 96 OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK County of Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii Introduced By: Virginia Isbell Date Introduced: May 17, 2006 First Reading: May 17, 2006 Published: May 30, 2006 REMARKS: Second Reading: June 5, 2006 To Mayor: N/A Returned: N/A Effective: Published: REMARKS ROLL CALL VOTE AYES NOES ABS EX Arakaki X Higa X Hoffmann X Holschuh X Ikeda X Isbell X Jacobson X Pilago X Safarik X 9 0 0 0 ROLL CALL VOTE AYES I NOES ABS EX Arakaki X Higa X Hoffmann X Holschuh X Ikeda X Isbell X Jacobson X Pilago X Safarik X 9 0 0 0 I DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing BILL was adopted by the County Council published as indicated above. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: DEPUTY CORPORATION COUNSEL COUNTY OF HAWAII ApprovedlDisapproved 20 MAYOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI I day COUNCIL CHAIRMAN COUNTY CLERK 273 Reference: C- 835/FC -295 Ord No.: