Please note: This guide is intended for statewide initiatives only. For information regarding the qualification of local initiatives, please contact your local elections official.

Introduction

In a special election held on October 10, 1911, California became the 10th state to adopt the initiative process. That year, Governor Hiram Johnson began his term by promising to give citizens a tool they could use to adopt laws and constitutional amendments without the support of the Governor or the Legislature. The new Leg-islature put a package of constitutional amendments on the ballot that placed more control of California politics directly into the hands of the people. This package included the ability to recall elected officials, the right to repeal laws by referendum, and the ability to enact state laws by initiative.

The initiative is the power of the people of California to propose statutes and amendments to the California Constitution (Cal. Const., art. II, § 8(a)). Generally, any matter that is a proper subject of legislation can become an initiative measure; however, no initiative measure addressing more than one subject area may be submitted to the voters or have any effect (Cal. Const., art. II, §§ 8(d) and 12). An initiative measure is placed on the ballot after its proponents successfully satisfy their requirements described in this handbook.

The Secretary of State has prepared this brief summary of the statewide initiative process, as required by Elections Code section 9015, to provide an understanding of the requirements for preparing and qualifying initiatives. This publication is for general information only and does not have the force and effect of law, regulation, or rule. In case of conflict, the law, regulation, or rule will apply. Interested persons should obtain the most up-to-date information available because of possible changes in law or procedure since the publication of this summary.

For historical information regarding initiative measures, please refer to The History of the California Initiative Process, which is produced by the Secretary of State.

For current information about initiative measures that are in circulation or have qualified for the ballot, please refer to our website at: www.ss.ca.gov or contact the Elections Division at (916) 657-2166.

[Please note: This handbook is intended for statewide initiative measures only. For information regarding the qualification of local initiative measures, please contact your local elections official. All code sections in this booklet refer to the Elections Code unless otherwise specified.]

The Initiative Process

Step One - Writing the Text of the Law

The first step in the process of qualifying an initiative measure is to write the text of the proposed law. The initiative measure's pro-ponent(s) may obtain assistance from the Legislative Counsel in drafting the language of the initiative measure. Proponent(s) must present the idea for the law to the Legislative Counsel, and 25 or more electors must sign the request for a draft of the proposed law. If it is determined that there is a reasonable probability the initiative measure will eventually be submitted to the voters, the Legislative Counsel will draft the proposed law (Government Code § 10243). Proponent(s) may also seek the assistance of their own private counsel to help draft the text of the proposed law, or they may choose to write the text themselves.

For more information contact:
Office of the Legislative Counsel
State Capitol, Room 3021
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-3057 / www.leginfo.ca.gov


Step Two - Request for Title and Summary

Once the text of the initiative measure has been written, the proponent(s) must submit a draft of the proposed initiative measure to the Attorney General with a written request that a title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed initiative measure be prepared (§ 9002). At the time of submitting the draft to the Attorney General, the proponent(s) must pay a fee of $200. The $200 is placed in a trust fund in the Office of the State Treasurer and is refunded if the initiative measure qualifies for the ballot within two years after the summary has been issued to the proponent(s). If the initiative measure fails to qualify within that period, the money is put into the General Fund of the state. (§ 9004)

For more information contact:
Office of the Attorney General
ATTN: Initiative Coordinator
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 324-5490 / www.caag.state.ca.us

Role of the Attorney General

Upon receipt of the fee and request, the Attorney General prepares a title and summary which will be the official summary of the initiative measure. The Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title and summary to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of the final version of a proposed initiative measure. If during the 15-day period, the proponent(s) of the proposed initiative measure submits amendments, other than technical, nonsubstantive amendments, to the initiative measure, the Attorney General shall provide a copy of the title and summary to the Secretary of State within 15 days after receipt of such amendments. (§ 9004) If a fiscal analysis is required, additional time is allotted.

Fiscal Estimate

If the Attorney General determines that the initiative measure requires a fiscal analysis, the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee are required to prepare an analysis within 25 working days from the date they receive the final version of the proposed initiative measure. The fiscal analysis includes either the estimate of the amount of any increase or decrease in revenues or costs to state or local governments, or any opinion as to whether or not a substantial net change in state or local finances would result, if the proposed initiative measure is adopted. If, in the opinion of the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, a reasonable estimate of the net impact of the proposed initiative measure cannot be prepared within the 25-working day period, the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee shall, within the 25-working day period, give the Attorney General their opinion as to whether or not a substantial net change in state or local finances would result if the proposed initiative measure is adopted (§ 9005). The Attorney General is allowed 15 days after receipt of this fiscal analysis to complete the title and summary (§ 9004).

When the official title and summary is complete, the Attorney General sends it to the proponent(s), the Senate and the Assembly, and the Secretary of State. The Legislature may conduct public hearings on the proposed initiative measure but cannot amend it.

Official Summary Date

The official summary date is the date the title and summary is sent to the proponent(s) by the Attorney General and the date the Secretary of State uses to calculate calendar deadlines provided to the proponent(s) and elections officials. No petition may be circulated prior to the official summary date. (§ 336)

Step Three - Circulation

Calendar

Based on the official summary date, the Secretary of State prepares a calendar of filing deadlines. The Secretary of State will send a copy of the calendar to the proponent(s) the same day it receives the official title and summary from the Attorney General's Office (§ 336).

Circulation Deadlines

Proponents are allowed a maximum of 150 days to circulate petitions and collect signatures (§ 336). However, the initiative measure must qualify at least 131 days before the next statewide election at which it is to be submitted to the voters (§ 9013; Cal. Const., art. II, § 8(c)). As a result, proponent(s) may want to shorten the circulation period in order to ensure that the proposed initiative measure qualifies at least 131 days before the next statewide election. See Appendix A for further information regarding filing deadlines.

Required Number of Signatures

In order to qualify for the ballot, the initiative measure must be signed by a specified number of registered voters depending on the type of initiative measure submitted.

Initiative Statute: Petitions proposing initiative statutes must be signed by registered voters. The number of signatures must be equal to at least 5% of the total votes cast for Governor at the last gubernatorial election. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 8(b); § 9035) The total number of signatures required for initiative statutes, which qualify for circulation before the November 2002 gubernatorial election, is 419,260.

Initiative Constitutional Amendment: Petitions proposing initiative constitutional amendments must be signed by registered voters. The number of signatures must be equal to at least 8% of the total votes cast for Governor at the last gubernatorial election. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 8(b); § 9035) The total number of signatures required for such petitions, which qualify for circulation before the November 2002 gubernatorial election, is 670,816.

Referenda

Pursuant to article II, section 9, of the California Constitution, a referendum is the power of the electors to approve or reject any statute enacted by the Legislature. A referendum cannot be used on urgency statutes, statutes calling elections, or statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for current expenses of the state.

Referenda on the ballot are fairly rare in comparison to initiative measures, although three referenda qualified for the March 2000 primary election ballot. Two out of the three were successful. Prior to that, the last four referenda placed before the voters appeared on the June 1982 primary election ballot. All four were defeated. Since 1912, there have been approximately 50 attempts to qualify referenda for the ballot. Of the 50 attempts, 39 qualified for the ballot, 25 of which were approved by voters.
If you are contemplating being a proponent of a referendum, it is important to contact the Secretary of State. (See Appendix B). The circulation calendar, verification, timing, and form of the petition have different requirements than initiatives. For example, the California Constitution requires that the process must be completed within ninety days of the enactment of the bill that is being referred. The signature requirements are the same for a referendum as an initiative statute.

Petitions

The format for the initiative petition is specified by law. County elections officials will not accept or file petitions which do not comply with the Elections Code (§ 9012). A petition may have several sections. Each section of the petition must contain the Attorney General's title and summary and the full text of the initiative measure. The Attorney General's title and summary shall be in at least 12-point Roman boldface type and the full text of the initiative measure shall be in at least 8-point type. Each page on which signatures are to appear must contain a copy of the Attorney General's summary. (§§ 9014, 9008)

Heading

The heading of each section of a proposed initiative petition shall be in substantially the following form:

• The printed name of the circulator.
  
• The residence address of the circulator, giving street and number, or if no street or number exists, adequate designation of residence so that the location may be readily ascertained.
  
• The dates between which all the signatures to the petition were obtained.
  

• That the circulator circulated the petition section and witnessed the appended signatures being written.
  
• That according to the best information and belief of the circulator, each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
  
• That the declaration is true and correct under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California.
  

• In addition to statutory deadlines, allowances must be made for transmittal of information since many of the time limitations begin when the proposed initiative measure is received by the office and not when sent. Therefore, transmittal time could add several days to the process.
  
• The Attorney General is allowed 15 days from the receipt of the final version of the initiative measure in which to provide the Secretary of State a copy of the title and summary. If during the 15-day period the proponent(s) submits amendments to the initiative measure, other than technical, non-substantive amendments, the time is extended to allow an additional 15 days.
  
• If the Attorney General determines that the initiative measure requires a fiscal analysis, additional time is allowed for the preparation of a title and summary. In addition to the 15 days, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Department of Finance are allowed a total of 25 working days from the date of receipt of the final version of the proposed initiative measure in order to prepare a fiscal analysis. The Attorney General is then allowed 15 days after receipt of the fiscal analysis prepared by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Department of Finance in which to transmit a copy of the title and summary.
  
• Proponent(s) have a maximum of 150 days from the official summary date to file the completed and signed petition sections with the appropriate county elections officials.
  
• The proposed initiative measure must qualify at least 131 days prior to the statewide election. If the proposed initiative measure qualifies after the 131-day deadline, the initiative measure will appear on the following statewide election ballot.