An Act To Amend the Procedure To Determine the Wording of Ballot Questions for Citizen Initiatives

Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §905-A,  as enacted by PL 2007, c. 234, §6, is amended to read:

§ 905-A. Public comment on initiative questions

No later than 10 business days after the Legislature adjourns sine die, the The Secretary of State shall give public notice of a proposed ballot question for any initiative that will be submitted to the voters at the next statewide election or special election by posting all proposed ballot questions on the Secretary of State's publicly accessible website. The Secretary of State may also publish notice for one day in newspapers having general circulation in the State. After giving public notice of a proposed ballot question in accordance with this section, the Secretary of State shall provide a 30-day public comment period for the purpose of receiving comments on the content and form of proposed questions to be placed on the ballot for any pending initiatives. No later than 10 days after receiving public comments in accordance with this section and after review of those comments, the Secretary of State shall write the ballot question for any pending initiative. The Secretary of State shall submit the ballot question for a pending initiative to the Legislative Council established in Title 3, section 161 for the council's review and approval. If the Legislative Council does not approve the ballot question, the Secretary of State shall revise the question and submit the revised question to the council for its review and approval.

summary

This bill requires the Secretary of State to submit the ballot question for a pending citizen initiative of legislation to the Legislative Council for the council's review and approval. If the council does not approve the ballot question, the Secretary of State is required to revise the question and submit the revised question to the council for its review and approval.