(1) Before circulating a petition to initiate or refer a state measure under section 1, Article IV, Oregon Constitution, the petitioner shall file with the Secretary of State a prospective petition. The prospective petition for a state measure to be initiated shall contain a statement of sponsorship signed by at least 1,000 electors. The statement of sponsorship shall be attached to a full and correct copy of the measure to be initiated.
(2) The secretary by rule shall establish procedures for verifying whether the statement of sponsorship contains the required number of signatures of electors.
(3) The secretary shall date and time stamp the prospective petition and specify the form on which the initiative or referendum petition shall be printed for circulation as provided in ORS 250.052. The secretary shall retain the prospective petition.
(4) The chief petitioner may amend the state measure to be initiated that has been filed with the secretary without filing another prospective petition, if:
(a) The Attorney General certifies to the secretary that the proposed amendment will not substantially change the substance of the measure; and
(b) The deadline for submitting written comments on the draft title has not passed.
(5) The cover of an initiative or referendum petition shall designate the name and residence address of not more than three persons as chief petitioners and shall contain instructions for persons obtaining signatures of electors on the petition. The instructions shall be adopted by the secretary by rule. The cover of a referendum petition shall contain the final measure summary described in ORS 250.065 (1). If a petition seeking a different ballot title is not filed with the Supreme Court by the deadline for filing a petition under ORS 250.085, the cover of an initiative petition shall contain the latest ballot title certified by the Attorney General under ORS 250.067 (2). However, if the Supreme Court has reviewed the ballot title, the cover of the initiative petition shall contain the title certified by the court.
(6) The chief petitioners shall include with the prospective petition a statement declaring whether one or more persons will be paid money or other valuable consideration for obtaining signatures of electors on the initiative or referendum petition. After the prospective petition is filed, the chief petitioners shall notify the filing officer not later than the 10th day after any of the chief petitioners first has knowledge or should have had knowledge that:
(a) Any person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the statement included with the prospective petition declared that no such person would be paid.
(b) No person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the statement included with the prospective petition declared that one or more such persons would be paid.
(7)(a) Each sheet of signatures on an initiative petition shall contain the caption of the ballot title. Each sheet of signatures on a referendum petition shall contain the subject expressed in the title of the Act to be referred.
(b) Each sheet of signatures on an initiative or referendum petition shall:
(A) Contain a notice describing the meaning of the color of the signature sheet in accordance with ORS 250.052; and
(B) If one or more persons will be paid for obtaining signatures of electors on the petition, contain a notice stating: “Some Circulators For This Petition Are Being Paid.” The notice shall be in boldfaced type and shall be prominently displayed on the sheet.
(c) The secretary by rule shall adopt a method of designation to distinguish signature sheets of referendum petitions containing the same subject reference and being circulated during the same period.
(8) The reverse side of the cover of an initiative or referendum petition shall be used for obtaining signatures on the initiative or referendum petition.
(9) Not more than 20 signatures on the signature sheet of the initiative or referendum petition may be counted. The circulator shall certify on each signature sheet of the initiative or referendum petition that the circulator:
(a) Witnessed the signing of the signature sheet by each individual whose signature appears on the signature sheet; and
(b) Believes each individual is an elector.
(10) The person obtaining signatures on the petition shall carry at least one full and correct copy of the measure to be initiated or referred and shall allow any person to review a copy upon request of the person. [1979 c.190 §144; 1979 c.345 §2; 1981 c.909 §2; 1983 c.514 §8; 1983 c.756 §9; 1985 c.447 §1; 1985 c.808 §25; 1987 c.519 §1; 1989 c.959 §3; 1992 c.1 §1; 1995 c.607 §26; 1997 c.846 §1; 1999 c.262 §2; 1999 c.318 §27; 1999 c.793 §2; 2001 c.965 §4; 2005 c.797 §36; 2007 c.159 §3; 2007 c.848 §8]
Section: Previous 250.038 250.039 250.040 250.041 250.042 250.043 250.044 250.045 250.048 250.050 250.052 250.055 250.060 250.065 250.067 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008