HOUSE BILL No. 5063

 

October 12, 2011, Introduced by Reps. Tyler, Jacobsen, Kurtz, Price and Knollenberg and referred to the Committee on Redistricting and Elections.

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending sections 22e, 32, 477, and 480 (MCL 168.22e, 168.32,

 

168.477, and 168.480), section 22e as added by 1995 PA 261 and

 

section 477 as amended by 1999 PA 219, and by adding section 483a;

 

and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 22e. (1) The board of state canvassers shall meet to

 

consider and approve a statement of the purpose of a proposed

 

constitutional amendment or other ballot question prepared pursuant

 

to sections section 32. and 474. The board of state canvassers

 

shall give not less than 3 full business days' notice to the public

 

of a meeting held under this subsection. The board of state


 

canvassers shall also give not less than 3 full business days'

 

notice to all of the following:

 

     (a) The legally or generally recognized sponsor of the

 

proposed constitutional amendment or other ballot question, if any.

 

     (b) The legislative sponsor of the proposed constitutional

 

amendment or ballot question, if any.

 

     (c) The senate majority leader.

 

     (d) The speaker of the house of representatives.

 

     (e) The minority leaders of the senate and the house of

 

representatives.

 

     (f) A legislator who does not receive notice under

 

subdivisions (c), (d), or (e).

 

     (2) The board of state canvassers shall publicly request and

 

allow a person described in subsection (1)(a) or (b), or a

 

representative of that person, to address a meeting held under this

 

section.

 

     Sec. 32. (1) There is hereby continued in In the office of the

 

secretary of state, the bureau of elections created by Act No. 65

 

of the Public Acts of 1951, former 1951 PA 65 continues under the

 

supervision of a director of elections, to be appointed by the

 

secretary of state under civil service regulations. The director of

 

elections shall be vested with the powers and shall perform the

 

duties of the secretary of state under his or her supervision, with

 

respect to the supervision and administration of the election laws.

 

The director of elections shall be a nonmember secretary of the

 

state board of canvassers.

 

     (2) The director of elections, with the approval of the state


 

board of canvassers, shall prepare a statement for designation on

 

the ballot in not more than 100 words, exclusive of caption, of the

 

purpose of any proposed amendment or question , to be submitted to

 

the electors as required under section 9 of article II, section 34

 

of article IV, or section 1 or 2 of article 12 XII of the state

 

constitution of 1963. The powers and duties of the state board of

 

canvassers and the secretary of state with respect to the

 

preparation of such the statement are hereby transferred to the

 

director of elections. The secretary of state shall certify the

 

statement of the purpose of any proposed amendment or question to

 

be submitted to the electors not later than 60 days before the date

 

of the election.

 

     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 under section

 

474 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.

 

     Sec. 480. Whenever If a proposed constitutional amendment or

 

other special question is to be submitted to the electors of the

 

this state for a popular vote, the secretary of state shall, not

 

less than 49 60 days before the date of the election at which the

 

proposed constitutional amendment or other special question is to

 

be submitted, certify the same statement of the purpose for

 

designation on the ballot to the clerk of each county in the this

 

state, together with the form in which such the constitutional

 

amendment or other special questions shall be submitted. printed on

 

the ballot. The secretary of state shall also furnish the several

 

county clerks in the this state 2 copies of the text of each

 

constitutional amendment or other special question and 2 copies of

 

each said statement for each voting precinct in their respective

 

counties. The Each county clerk shall furnish the said copies of

 

such the statement to the several township and city clerks in his

 

or her county at the time other supplies for the election are

 

furnished. ; and each such Each township or city clerk shall,

 

before the opening of the polls on election day, deliver the copies

 

of such the text and statement to which each voting precinct in his

 

or her township or city is entitled to the board of election


 

inspectors of said the precinct, who shall post the same in

 

conspicuous places in the room where such the election is held.

 

     Sec. 483a. (1) A petition proposing an amendment to the

 

constitution or to initiate legislation shall be submitted to the

 

director of elections for review before being circulated. When

 

submitted, the petition form shall be accompanied by an affidavit

 

executed by the printer who prepared the petition form attesting

 

that the type sizes used on the form comply with the type size

 

requirements specified under section 482. Upon receipt of a

 

petition, the director of elections shall determine whether the

 

petition complies with all applicable formatting requirements. If a

 

statement describing the subject matter of the proposal appears on

 

the form, the director of elections shall determine whether the

 

statement fairly reflects the subject matter of the proposal. The

 

director of elections shall prepare a written report concerning the

 

review of the petition form for presentation to the board of state

 

canvassers. The written report shall include a copy of the petition

 

form, the affidavit submitted by the printer who prepared the

 

petition form, certification by the director of elections that the

 

petition complies with the applicable formatting requirements, and,

 

if a statement describing the subject matter of the proposal

 

appears on the form, certification by the director of elections

 

that the statement fairly reflects the subject matter of the

 

proposal.

 

     (2) The board of state canvassers shall meet within 30 days

 

after the petition sponsor submits the petition to the director of

 

elections for review to receive the report prepared by the director


 

of elections and to consider the approval of the petition form. If

 

the director of elections requests a revision of the petition

 

during the course of the review process, the board of state

 

canvassers shall meet within 30 days after the petition sponsor

 

submits the final petition revision requested by the director of

 

elections. The board of state canvassers shall not meet to consider

 

the approval of the petition form unless and until the director of

 

elections certifies that the petition complies with the applicable

 

formatting requirements and, if a statement describing the subject

 

matter of the proposal appears on the form, that the statement

 

fairly reflects the subject matter of the proposal.

 

     (3) If the board of state canvassers adopts a motion to

 

approve the form of the petition, the petition sponsor may proceed

 

with circulating the petition. Any signatures affixed to the

 

petition that are dated before the date the board of state

 

canvassers approves the form of the petition are invalid.

 

     (4) If the board of state canvassers adopts a motion to not

 

approve the form of the petition, the petition sponsor shall not

 

circulate the petition for the collection of signatures. Any

 

signatures affixed to a petition form not approved by the board of

 

state canvassers are invalid. The motion entered to not approve the

 

form of the petition shall specify the deficiencies identified in

 

the petition form. The petition sponsor may correct the petition

 

form and resubmit the petition form to the director of elections

 

for review and reconsideration. The board of state canvassers shall

 

meet to consider the approval of the corrected petition form within

 

30 days after the petition sponsor submits the corrected petition


 

form to the director of elections.

 

     (5) If the board of state canvassers fails to meet to receive

 

the report prepared by the director of elections within the

 

prescribed 30-day time period provided in subsection (2) or if the

 

board meets to receive the report prepared by the director of

 

elections within the 30-day time period and fails to adopt a motion

 

to approve or not approve the petition form, the petition sponsor

 

may proceed with circulating the petition. Any signatures affixed

 

to the petition that are dated on or before the date the 30-day

 

time period elapsed or are dated on or before the date the board of

 

state canvassers met to receive the report prepared by the director

 

of elections, if an earlier date, are invalid. If the petition form

 

is subsequently used to submit a filing to the secretary of state,

 

the petition form shall be subject to review and approval by the

 

board of state canvassers as a part of the canvass of the petition

 

for sufficiency.

 

     (6) The substance of the proposal appearing on a petition

 

submitted to the director of elections shall not be subject to

 

review or consideration by the director of elections or the board

 

of state canvassers. If the petition bears a statement describing

 

the subject matter of the proposal, the statement shall not be

 

subject to review or consideration by the board of state

 

canvassers.

 

     (7) After a petition form is approved by the board of state

 

canvassers, the petition shall not be altered or modified in any

 

way prior to or during the circulation of the petition, except for

 

any tear-off sheets that provide for directory information.


 

     (8) Any person who feels aggrieved by a determination made by

 

the director of elections or the board of state canvassers relative

 

to the form of a petition or the statement describing the subject

 

matter of the proposal appearing on the petition, if any, may have

 

the determination reviewed on appeal by the Michigan court of

 

appeals on an expedited basis.

 

     Enacting section 1. Sections 474, 649, and 707 of the Michigan

 

election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.474, 168.649, and 168.707, are

 

repealed.