83A.120 Procedure for referendum on public question.

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Page 1 of 2 83A.120 Procedure for referendum on public question. (1) Any public question authorized by statute may be submitted to the voters of a city by either a resolution of the city legislative body or a petition meeting the requirements of this section. The resolution or petition shall set out in full the matter to be considered. The proposal shall be drafted in such a way that a vote in favor of adoption shall be a vote in favor of the effect or impact of the proposal. (2) Any five (5) qualified voters of the city may commence petition proceedings by filing with the county clerk an affidavit stating they constitute the petition committee and will be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form. The affidavit shall state their names and addresses and specify the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent. It shall set out in full the proposal to be considered by the voters. Promptly after the affidavit of the petition committee is filed, the county clerk shall notify the petition committee of all statutory requirements for petitions under this section and shall deliver a copy of the affidavit to the legislative body of the city. (3) All papers of a petition shall be uniform in size and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the address of the person signing. Petitions shall be signed by registered voters of the city equal in number to at least twenty percent (20%) of the total number of votes cast in the city in the last presidential election. When it is filed, each sheet of a petition shall have an affidavit executed by the circulator stating that he personally circulated the sheet, the number of signatures thereon, that all signatures were affixed in his presence, that he believes them to be the genuine signatures of registered voters in the city and that each signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the proposal. Petitions shall contain or have attached throughout their circulation the full text of the proposal. (4) Within thirty (30) days after the petition is filed, the county clerk shall complete a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying, if it is insufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective and shall send a copy to the petition committee and to the city legislative body by registered mail. A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petition committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the county clerk within five (5) days after receiving the copy of his certificate and files a supplemental petition upon additional sheets within thirty (30) days after receiving the certificate. The supplemental petition shall comply with the requirements of subsection (3) and within ten (10) days after it is filed the county clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petition committee and to the city legislative body by certified mail. (5) A final determination as to the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to review in the Circuit Court of the county and shall be limited to the validity of the county clerk's determination. A final determination of insufficiency shall not prejudice the filing in accordance with this section of a new petition for the same purpose. Page 2 of 2 (6) If, not later than the second Tuesday in August preceding the day established for a regular election, the county clerk receives a resolution requesting that the question be submitted to the voters or certifies that a petition is sufficient, the county clerk shall have prepared to place before the voters of the city at the next regular election the question, which shall be "Are you in favor of the proposal entitled.....? Yes.... No... ." The county clerk shall cause to be published in accordance with KRS Chapter 424, at the same time as the remaining voter information, the full text of the proposal. The county clerk shall cause to be posted in each polling place one (1) copy of the full text of the proposal. (7) The provisions of general election law shall apply to public questions submitted to voters under this section. The certificate of the body authorized by law to canvass election returns shall be delivered to the mayor and the certificate shall be entered upon the records of the city at the next regular meeting of the city legislative body. Effective: July 15, 1996 History: Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 195, sec. 23, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 360, sec. 23, effective July 15, 1982. -- Created 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 235, sec. 12, effective July 15, 1980.