Sec. 477.
(1) The board of state canvassers shall make an official declaration of the sufficiency or insufficiency of a petition under this chapter at least 2 months before the election at which the proposal is to be submitted. If the board of state canvassers declares that the petition is sufficient, the secretary of state shall send copies of the statement of purpose of the proposal as approved by the board of state canvassers to the several daily and weekly newspapers published in this state, with the request that the newspapers give as wide publicity as possible to the proposed amendment or other question. Publication of any matter by any newspaper under this section shall be without expense or cost to the state of Michigan.
(2) For the purposes of the second paragraph of section 9 of article II of the state constitution of 1963, a law that is the subject of the referendum continues to be effective until the referendum is properly invoked, which occurs when the board of state canvassers makes its official declaration of the sufficiency of the referendum petition. The board of state canvassers shall complete the canvass of a referendum petition within 60 days after the petition is filed with the secretary of state, except that 1 15-day extension may be granted by the secretary of state if necessary to complete the canvass.
History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;-- Am. 1999, Act 219, Eff. Mar. 10, 2000 ;-- Am. 2012, Act 276, Eff. Aug. 16, 2012
Popular Name: Election Code
Last modified: October 10, 2016