HOUSE BILL No. 5650

February 8, 2006, Introduced by Rep. Ward and referred to the Committee on House Oversight, Elections, and Ethics.

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending section 477 (MCL 168.477), as amended by 1999 PA 219.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 477. (1) The  board of state canvassers  state director

 

of elections 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

 

state director of elections shall declare the petition sufficient

 

unless he or she determines that the petition is not in proper form

 

or that the number of valid signatures is less than the minimum

 

number required. In determining the sufficiency of the form of the

 


petition, the state director of elections shall not consider the

 

substance of the proposal affixed to the petition. If the  board of

 

state canvassers  state director of elections 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  this 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  state director of elections makes  its  his or

 

her official declaration of the sufficiency of the referendum

 

petition. The  board of state canvassers  state director of

 

elections 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.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 93rd Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No. 973 or House Bill No.____ (request no.

 

04197'05 *).

 


     (b) Senate Bill No. 974 or House Bill No.____ (request no.

 

05710'06).

 

     (c) Senate Bill No. 975 or House Bill No.____ (request no.

 

05711'06).

 

     (d) Senate Bill No. 976 or House Bill No.____ (request no.

 

05712'06).

 

     (e) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5648(request no.

 

05714'06).

 

     (f) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5649(request no.

 

05715'06).