HomeMy WebLinkAbout6-3-11 DennisavTTe couNT~
ADNS1NiSTRAT[oN
O'Neil G. Dennis ~ ~~~ ~ 20~i
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1339 Esplanade aazo~ar~L~, cA.t.i~oxN~.
Chico, California 95926
E-mail: oneildennis mail.com
Telephone: 4530 343-1010 Northern California
Telephone: (510J 250-3759 Bay Area
Facsimile: (530) 302-1577
www.oneil~dennis.com
June- 3, 2011
Butte County Elections HAND DELIVERED JUNE 3, 2011
25 County Center Drive, Ste 110
Oroville, CA 95965
Re: Ordinance 4029& Referendum Presentment
Dear Director of Elections:
The Elections Office has indicated to my office that referendum petitions must be
presented to the to the Board of Supervisors at the scheduled Tuesday meeting of June 14, 2011.
1 disagree.
The Referendum is not required to be presented to the Board of Supervisors. Elections
Code 9110 states:, Signatures shall be secured and the petition shall be presented to the county
elections official for filing within 1 SO days from the date of receipt of the title and summary, or
after termination of any action for a writ of mandate pursuant to Section 9106 and, if applicable,
after receipt of an amended title or summary or both, whichever occurs later.
Section 9146 goes on to indicate that: The provisions of this code relating to the form of
petitions, the duties of the county elections official, and the manner of holding elections, when
an ordinance is proposed by initiative petition, govern the procedure on ordinances against
which a protest is filed.
In re Sylvia v Bd. Qf Supervisors (1989} 208 Ca1.Ap.3d 648 provides some incite as to
the proper procedure for submitting a referendum to the county clerk. Since the Elections office
is required to verify the signatures and the electoral status of the signing parties, it makes
procedural sense for your office to receive and accept the Referendum. When the County
Elections timely certifies the Referendum, it is then presented by your office to the Board for
reconsideration, and later placement on the ballot.
The same analysis is found in Mathew Benders Forms of California Pleading and
Practice.
Time is of the essence; therefore please instruct my office by June 7, 2011, of the
Elections Office's willingness to accept Referendum petitions on the 29`" day after the May 24,
2011, passage of Ordinance 4029.
S
Cc: Robert Mackenzie, Attorney at Law, 330 Wall Street, Suite 40, Chico, CA 9592$
County Counsel, County of Butte
Butte County Board of Supervisors G/ ~ ~ 3 ~ ~
Attorney at Law