SUMMARY

This bill does the following:

1. It requires the Secretary of State in conjunction with the Revisor of Statutes to draft a proposed ballot question summary for proposed direct initiative legislation and to post the summary on the Internet;

2. It requires that the proposed ballot question summary contain prescribed language informing the voter of the costs of ballot questions and that the petition circulator must offer the voter the opportunity to read and keep a copy of the summary before signing the petition;

3. It requires that the petition contain a header stating that each voter has a right to read the proposed ballot question summary before signing the petition;

4. It requires that the petition be divided into 2 columns for signatures to identify voters who read the proposed ballot question summary and signed the petition and those who did not read the summary but still signed the petition;

5. It requires the petition circulator to certify that all voters were given the opportunity to read the proposed ballot question summary before signing the petition and makes the falsification of such certification a crime;

6. It requires a person that is circulating a petition within 250 feet of a polling place to post a sign that reads "Not a Polling Place";

7. It requires a person who is paid to circulate a petition to wear a button stating that that person is being paid to circulate a petition and requires the person to disclose who is paying for the services upon the request of a voter;

8. It requires that financial reports be filed during the signature-gathering phase of a direct initiative campaign;

9. It reduces the threshold for reporting financial reports from $1,500 to $250 for all political action committees and for persons not defined as political action committees; and