Laws governing the initiative process in Oregon
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This article highlights some of the laws governing the initiative process in Oregon. Oregon citizens can amend their constitution and create new state laws through the initiative process, and can overturn laws passed by the Oregon legislature through the veto referendum process.
Initial steps for qualifying an initiative
The first step in the process is to file wording for the initiative and an application with the Oregon Secretary of State, who is required to immediately send a copy to the Oregon Attorney General. Once 1,000 sponsorship signatures have been submitted, the Attorney General has 5 days to write a ballot title and summary. The Attorney General then sends the title and summary to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State sends copies of the full text, title and summary to the Legislature, proponents and other interested parties, including journalists and activists who are on the Secretary of State’s e-mail list.
There is then a 15 day comment period during which the public can review and debate the ballot title, summary and full text. There are no official public hearings. It is during this 15-day comment period that the proponent can challenge the wording chosen by the Attorney General directly to the Oregon Supreme Court. The Court, however, does not have a set time frame for dealing with any disputes. If the proponent agrees with the ballot title, then the proponent will put the petition in the correct format with the ballot title and begin collecting signatures after the 15 days.
It has been the practice in Oregon to file several measures with the Secretary of State with slightly different wording, so that the chief petitioner gets several different ballot titles to choose from before deciding which to circulate. A 2007 change in Oregon's law--requiring sponsors to file 1,000 sponsorship signatures before a ballot title will be issued--may reduce the frequency of this practice.
Details
Deadlines:
Initiatives can be submitted any time after July of two years before the election. Signatures can then be collected from the time of the initiative filing until July of the election year, a time frame of nearly two years.
See petition drive deadlines in 2008.
Distribution Requirement:
Oregon does not have a distribution requirement.
Number of required signatures
The number of required signatures is tied to the number of voters who cast a vote in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. Valid signatures equalling 8% of votes cast for governor are needed for an initiated constitutional amendment and signatures equal to to 6% of votes cast for governor are required for an initiated statute.
For 2008, this will be 110,358 signatures for an initiated constitutional amendment, 55,179 for referendum and 82,769 for an initiated state statute.
See also: Oregon signature requirements.
Signature verification process
Petitions are turned into the Secretary of State’s office. The Secretary of State highlights a random sample and sends them out to the appropriate counties for verification.
Single–subject restriction
Oregon has a single-subject rule.
Legislative tampering
The Oregon legislature can repeal and amend initiative statutes by simple majority.
Restrictions on petition circulators
Oregon does not have a residency requirement for petition circulators.
Ban on pay-per-signature
In 2002, Oregon Ballot Measure 26 was approved by popular vote. It forbid initiative sponsors from paying petitioners on a per-signature basis. This ban on pay-per-signature was upheld in Prete v. Bradbury, a ruling of the Ninth Circuit Court. Oregon Constitutional Article IV §1b reads:
"It shall be unlawful to pay or receive money or other thing of value based on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition. Nothing herein prohibits payment for signature gathering which is not based, either directly or indirectly, on the number of signatures obtained."[1]
(See also laws governing petition circulators.)
January 2008 restrictions
On July 31, 2007, Oregon House Bill 2082 (2007) went into effect.[2],[3] The changes are:
- Paid circulators must register with the Secretary of State, complete a training program, and carry evidence with them of their registration status.
- Oregon chief petitioners are required to sign an acknowledgement that they are responsible for any violations of law committed by paid circulators in their employ "either directly or indirectly".
- Petition templates will be prepared by the government rather than by the sponsors of the initiatives.
- Signature sheets collected by volunteer circulators will be a different color than those collected by paid circulators.
- 1,000 sponsorship signatures will be required before a ballot title will be determined.
- Voters from different counties can now sign the same petition sheet.
- Circulators may not assist voters by filling out any voter information, such as the voter's address, unless the voter has a disability and requests assistance.
- Chief petitioners are required to make available to the government "any paperwork documenting contracts between chief petitioners and signature gathering companies, payroll records, employment manuals, copies of signature sheets, etc."
- Any signatures collected for the November 2008 ballot in 2007 must be turned in to the Secretary of State no later than January 4, 2008 in a special "early turn in".
In January 2009, outgoing Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury said the new law is "a really good starting point" but that its effectivenes hinges on whether the resources exist to ensure compliance. He recommended that the election division hire two full-time investigators for this purpose, adding, "I really think we need to give this new law a full test, but we need to make sure we give it a full test with adequate staff resources to actually do the job."[4]
Restrictions on paid petition blockers
Oregon has no restrictions on paid petition blockers.
Proposed changes, 2009
- Allows the secretary of state's office to do criminal background checks on circulators.
- Invalidates signatures from petitioners who are prohibited from working in the state.
- Raises fines for violations from $250 per incident to as much as $10,000.
- Makes chief petitioners liable for fines if they fail to stop fraud under certain circumstances.[5]
- Citizen-sponsored ballot initiatives that gain enough signatures to qualify for the ballot would first be sent on a detour through the Oregon Legislature under a proposal being floated in the 2009 session. Supporters say the change, if enacted, would lead to a more deliberative process. Opponents says it would curb the state's tradition of direct democracy.[6]
- Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown is asking the state legislature to adopt a proposal that would:
- Require signature gatherers to register and take a training course earlier than they are required to so under the state's current laws.
- Allow the government to invalidate any signatures collected by a petition circulator who has been convicted of fraud, forgery or identity theft.[7]
See also
- Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Oregon
- History of Initiative & Referendum in Oregon
- Campaign finance requirements for Oregon ballot measures
- Bill Sizemore and the Oregon Education Association
- Oregon signature requirements
External links
- I&R Institute - Oregon
- Oregon Secretary of State's FAQ about petitions
- Oregon Constitution and Statutory Provisions provided by the I&R Institute
References
- ↑ Pay Per Signatures Blog
- ↑ Changes to initiative and referendum law
- ↑ A challenge to Oregon's 2008 candidates for Secretary of State: Fix the initiative!
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Oregon ballot measures will face a higher bar", December 29, 2008
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Senate OKs initiative crackdown", June 15, 2009
- ↑ News-Review, "Ore. initiatives might go first to lawmakers", January 28, 2009
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Brown wants to further regulate Ore. initiatives", March 23, 2009
