Act No. 608
Public Acts of 2018
Approved by the Governor
December 28, 2018
Filed with the Secretary of State
December 28, 2018
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 28, 2018
STATE OF MICHIGAN
99TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2018
Introduced by Reps. Lower and Miller
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 6595
AN ACT to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled “An act to reorganize, consolidate, and add to the election laws; to provide for election officials and prescribe their powers and duties; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, state agencies, and state and local officials and employees; to provide for the nomination and election of candidates for public office; to provide for the resignation, removal, and recall of certain public officers; to provide for the filling of vacancies in public office; to provide for and regulate primaries and elections; to provide for the purity of elections; to guard against the abuse of the elective franchise; to define violations of this act; to provide appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal certain acts and all other acts inconsistent with this act,” by amending sections 471, 477, 479, 482, and 544d (MCL 168.471, 168.477, 168.479, 168.482, and 168.544d), section 471 as amended by 1999 PA 219, section 477 as amended by 2012 PA 276, section 482 as amended by 1998 PA 142, and section 544d as amended by 1999 PA 218, and by adding sections 482a, 482b, 482c, and 482d.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 471. Petitions under section 2 of article XII of the state constitution of 1963 proposing an amendment to the constitution must be filed with the secretary of state at least 120 days before the election at which the proposed amendment is to be voted upon. Initiative petitions under section 9 of article II of the state constitution of 1963 must be filed with the secretary of state at least 160 days before the election at which the proposed law would appear on the ballot if the legislature rejects or fails to enact the proposed law. Referendum petitions under section 9 of article II of the state constitution of 1963 must be filed with the secretary of state not more than 90 days following the final adjournment of the legislative session at which the law that is the subject of the referendum was enacted. Not more than 15% of the signatures to be used to determine the validity of a petition described in this section shall be of registered electors from any 1 congressional district. Any signature submitted on a petition above the limit described in this section must not be counted. When filing a petition described in this section with the secretary of state, a person must sort the petition so that the petition signatures are categorized by congressional district. In addition, when filing a petition described in this section with the secretary of state, the person who files the petition must state in writing a good-faith estimate of the number of petition signatures from each congressional district.
Sec. 477. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, 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. The board of state canvassers shall make an official declaration of the sufficiency or insufficiency of an initiative petition no later than 100 days before the election at which the proposal is to be submitted. The board of state canvassers may not count toward the sufficiency of a petition described in this section any valid signature of a registered elector from a congressional district submitted on that petition that is above the 15% limit described in section 471. 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 must be without expense or cost to this state.
(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.
Sec. 479. (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary and subject to subsection (2), any person who feels aggrieved by any determination made by the board of state canvassers may have the determination reviewed by mandamus or other appropriate remedy in the supreme court.
(2) If a person feels aggrieved by any determination made by the board of state canvassers regarding the sufficiency or insufficiency of an initiative petition, the person must file a legal challenge to the board’s determination in the supreme court within 7 business days after the date of the official declaration of the sufficiency or insufficiency of the initiative petition or not later than 60 days before the election at which the proposal is to be submitted, whichever occurs first. Any legal challenge to the official declaration of the sufficiency or insufficiency of an initiative petition has the highest priority and shall be advanced on the supreme court docket so as to provide for the earliest possible disposition.
Sec. 482. (1) Each petition under this section must be 8-1/2 inches by 14 inches in size.
(2) If the measure to be submitted proposes a constitutional amendment, initiation of legislation, or referendum of legislation, the heading of each part of the petition must be prepared in the following form and printed in capital letters in 14-point boldfaced type:
INITIATIVE PETITION
AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
OR
INITIATION OF LEGISLATION
OR
REFERENDUM OF LEGISLATION
PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION
(3) A summary in not more than 100 words of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question proposed must follow and be printed in 12-point type. The full text of the amendment so proposed must follow the summary and be printed in 8-point type. If the proposal would alter or abrogate an existing provision of the constitution, the petition must so state and the provisions to be altered or abrogated must be inserted, preceded by the words:
“Provisions of existing constitution altered or abrogated by the proposal if adopted.”
(4) The following statement must appear beneath the petition heading:
“We, the undersigned qualified and registered electors, residents in the ____________________________ congressional district in the state of Michigan, respectively petition for (amendment to constitution) (initiation of legislation) (referendum of legislation) (other appropriate description).”.
(5) The following warning must be printed in 12-point type immediately above the place for signatures, on each part of the petition:
WARNING
A person who knowingly signs this petition more than once, signs a name other than his or her own, signs when not a qualified and registered elector, or sets opposite his or her signature on a petition, a date other than the actual date the signature was affixed, is violating the provisions of the Michigan election law.
(6) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), the remainder of the petition form must be as provided following the warning to electors signing the petition in section 544c(1). In addition, the petition must comply with the requirements of section 544c(2).
(7) Each petition under this section must provide at the top of the page check boxes and statements printed in 12-point type to clearly indicate whether the circulator of the petition is a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer signature gatherer.
(8) Each petition under this section must clearly indicate below the statement required under subsection (7) and be printed in 12-point type that if the petition circulator does not comply with all of the requirements of this act for petition circulators, any signature obtained by that petition circulator on that petition is invalid and will not be counted.
Sec. 482a. (1) If an individual who circulates a petition under section 482 is a paid signature gatherer, then that individual must, before circulating any petition, file a signed affidavit with the secretary of state that indicates he or she is a paid signature gatherer.
(2) Any signature obtained on a petition under section 482 by an individual who has not filed the required affidavit under subsection (1) is invalid and must not be counted.
(3) If the circulator of a petition under section 482 provides or uses a false address or provides any fraudulent information on the certificate of circulator, any signature obtained by that circulator on that petition is invalid and must not be counted.
(4) If a petition under section 482 is circulated and the petition does not meet all of the requirements under section 482, any signature obtained on that petition is invalid and must not be counted.
(5) Any signature obtained on a petition under section 482 that was not signed in the circulator’s presence is invalid and must not be counted.
Sec. 482b. (1) A person who circulates a petition under section 482 may, before circulating any petition, submit the summary of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question proposed that is required under section 482(3) to the board of state canvassers for approval as to the content of the summary. The board of state canvassers must issue an approval or rejection of the content of the summary not more than 30 days after the summary is submitted. The board of state canvassers may not consider a challenge to the sufficiency of a submitted petition on the basis of the summary being misleading or deceptive if that summary was approved before circulation of the petition.
(2) If a person submits the summary of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question proposed as provided in subsection (1), all of the following apply:
(a) The summary of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question proposed must be prepared by the director of elections, with the approval of the board of state canvassers.
(b) The summary is limited to not more than 100 words and must consist of a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question proposed in language that does not create prejudice for or against the proposed amendment or question proposed.
(c) The summary must be worded so as to apprise the petition signers of the subject matter of the proposed amendment or question proposed, but does not need to be legally precise.
(d) The summary must be clearly written using words that have a common everyday meaning to the general public.
(3) If the board of state canvassers approves the summary of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question proposed, the person who circulates the petition under section 482 shall print the full text of the approved summary in 12-point type in the place required by section 482(3).
Sec. 482c. The circulator of a petition under section 482 who knowingly makes a false statement concerning his or her status as a paid signature gatherer or volunteer signature gatherer is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 482d. As used in this chapter, “paid signature gatherer” means an individual who is compensated, directly or indirectly, through payments of money or other valuable consideration to obtain signatures on a petition as described in section 471.
Sec. 544d. Nominating petitions for the offices under this act and petitions for a local proposal may be circulated on a countywide form. Petitions circulated countywide must be on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, which form must be substantially as provided in sections 482, 544a, or 544c, whichever is applicable. The secretary of state may provide for a petition form larger than 8-1/2 inches by 13 inches and shall provide for identification of the city or township in which the person signing the petition is registered. The certificate of the circulator may be on the reverse side of the petition. This section does not prohibit the circulation of petitions on another form prescribed by this act.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved
Governor